My Hogwarts Academia
by VixenoftheWords
Summary: The Triwizard tournament is at Hogwarts this year, and sixth year Ravenclaw Momo Yaoyorozu is content with supporting her school in anyway she can, even if she isn't chosen as champion. Being top of the class in almost every subject, many people expect great things out of Momo, but all she wants this year is to find out more about the incredibly attractive Durmstrang champion.
1. Chapter 1

The train to Hogwarts was always thrilling no matter how many times you've taken it, with the air burning with magic and excited children chattering endlessly. First years found empty compartments with other first years and talked shyly about what house they wanted to be in with their new friends, planting the seeds of what will grow into their relationships with these people who will be around them for the next seven years of their developing magic lives.

That's what had happened five years ago, on September 1, 2010. Young eleven-year-old Momo Yaoyorozu had been walking the halls of the train with burning curiosity, peeking out of the windows at the passing scenery with interest. She had put her suitcases into a compartment and then left, not worrying about what will happen to them since her parents had already told her they'd be delivered from the train to her room no matter where she was. Momo had decided to leave her compartment solely because she was curious about the other first years and wanted to see them before the sorting, so she could decide who she wanted to be friends with without the cloud of house rivalries possible clouding her choice.

And in the hallway, was where Momo met Kyouka Jirou and Mina Ashido.

There was a single girl in the almost empty halls, she had short black hair and was looking out the window and walking just like Momo was, and neither saw the other before they crashed into each other. Momo's book bag went flying, sending books crashing over the floor while the black-haired girl's strange metal device clattered alongside the books. They both fell on their backsides, and the black-haired girl spoke first, her voice annoyed.

"Hey! Watch where you're going next time why don't you!" The girl frowned over at Momo, her guitar earrings swishing as she looked around for her device. Spotting it next to one of her books, Momo snatched it up and handed it to the girl in apology.

"I'm sorry, I was looking out the window so didn't see you." The frown lessened on the girl, and she took the device from Momo.

"Oh. I was looking out the window too so…" She twiddled with a wire coming out of the device, and her eyes downcast as she murmured, "so… I guess I ran into you as much as you ran into me, so I'm sorry too." Momo smiled at her brightly.

"Apology accepted! My name is Yaoyorozu by the way, Momo Yaoyorozu!" Momo offered her hand, and the girl took it, a small smile on her face.

"My name is Kyouka Jirou, nice to meet you um, Yaoyorozu."

Letting go of Jirou's hand, Momo turned to pick up her empty book bag. "It's nice to meet you too Jirou." Momo said as she bent down to start picking up her books. She had only picked up one when a loud, cheerful voice rang out with a laugh.

"Whoa! What happened here?!"

Looking up, Momo saw a girl with the fluffiest pink hair with a hand covering her mouth as she walked towards them down the hall. Momo smiled sheepishly at her.

"We," Momo gestured at Jirou and herself, "accidently ran into each other and my books went everywhere. I'll have it cleaned up in a bit, sorry for cluttering the hall." The pink head stopped and went onto her knees, picking up a two of Momo's fallen books.

"Wow! I didn't see this book on the booklist, are all of these for school?" Momo blushed as she accepted the books pink was handing her, nodding embarrassingly.

"Yes, well- kind of. I just thought that they might help reading these alongside the assigned school books, so I thought I'd bring them. They aren't mandatory or anything so you wouldn't see it on the booklist."

The pink haired girl whistled, picking up some more books, which seemed to make Jirou realize she should be polite and help too, and handed them to Momo.

"You must really like to read if you chose to bring all these extra books! You're going to be in Ravenclaw for sure!" The girl said confidently as Momo shoved the last of the books into the bag and all of them stood up. Grinning at them, the girl started playing with the tips of her hair, her face beaming with friendliness. "I'm Mina Ashido! I want to be in Gryffindor or Hufflepuff! What about you guys?"

Momo and Jirou both smiled in return, and Jirou spoke first. Excitement in her eyes now that they were talking about houses.

"Kyouka Jirou, and I want to be in Gryffindor!" Mina clapped her hands together excitedly.

"We both want to be in Gryffindor that's awesome! I hope we both get in, then we can be Gryffindor buddies!" Jirou nodded enthusiastically, and Momo, not wanting to get excluded from the conversation, decided it was a good point to introduce herself.

"I'm Yao- er, Momo Yaoyorozu, and I want to be in Ravenclaw like you said!" Momo stopped herself form saying her last name first like she had been taught, she had noticed no one else said their last name first, and she didn't want to be out of the loop if saying your last name first was the old way of introducing yourself.

Mina laughed.

"I'd bet 5 galleons if I had any that you will be in Ravenclaw! Those books you have look super advanced!" Jirou nodded in agreement with Mina, adding:

"And like, you have the look of a Ravenclaw about you!" Momo didn't quite know what that meant, but since Mina said "oooh you're right!" in agreement, Momo just tuck some of her black hair behind her ear and thanked them shyly.

"Ah this is so exciting! I haven't even made it to Hogwarts yet and I've already met a smart Ravenclaw and a possible Gryffindor buddie! This is so awesome!" Mina bounced, her hands clapping together in excitement and a brilliant smile on her face.

"Do you guys want to grab a compartment together?!" Mina asked, hope written all over her face. Momo's stomach soared as she realized Mina was offering what her parents told her was "the first step towards lasting friendships". She nodded enthusiastically, clutching her book bag tightly to her chest. Jirou nodded too, and Mina laughed with joy, her arms reaching above her head as she exclaimed.

"Yay! Oh, this is going to be so fun!"

"Yes, it will be! I have my suitcases in a compartment down this way, so we can see if it's still empty if you'd guys like?" Momo offered, and Mina and Jirou agreed and they hurried down the hallway, chattering excitedly.

They passed a compartment, and Mina stopped momentarily and waved at a boy with red hair, who waved back enthusiastically. He was sitting in a full compartment with 5 other boys. Two were blonde, but one had a weird wave thing in his hair, while the other was sending off serious signals that he didn't like anyone in the compartment. Sitting as far away from the fuming blonde as possible, was a boy with green curly hair and freckles, he was scribbling furiously in a notebook. Next to him, was a tall boy with glasses, who was sitting near the door and peering out at everyone passing with a critical frown on his face. Sitting next to the red-haired boy, was another tall boy who had a cat like grin on his face as he and the wavy blonde joked back and forth. After waving to the red head, Momo and her new friends walked to the compartment where Momo left her suitcase, and sitting there was two girls who looked to be first year. Opening the door, Momo walked inside and smiled as they both turned and looked at her.

"Hello, I left my suitcases in here, would it be ok if we joined you?" Momo asked, and they both nodded, smiling at her.

One of them, a girl with long blackish green hair shaped into a bow like loop at the bottom and a rather frog like face, put her finger to her chin and spoke curtly as Momo, Mina, and Jirou sat down.

"We don't mind, we were hoping whoever left the suitcases would come back. My name is Tsuyu Asui, please call me Tsuyu." Turning pointedly towards the brown-haired girl sitting next to the window, she directed everyone's attention to her.

Sitting up straight, the brown-haired girl gave them all a chipper smile.

"I'm Ochako Uraraka!"

After that, all the girls introduced themselves and started talking.

Momo found out a lot about this girls in the hours before arriving at Hogwarts.

For example, she was the only pure blood of them all. Mina, Tsuyu, and Jirou were half-bloods, while Uraraka was a muggle born.

Momo was also the only one who wanted to be in Ravenclaw, with everyone else wanting to be in Gryffindor and Mina also wouldn't mind Hufflepuff.

After the trolley came, and Momo insisted on buying everyone something from it as a sign of their new friendship, they all were laughing and joking and introducing Uraraka to the joy of collecting chocolate frog cards.

After four hours, they finally arrived at Hogwarts. The excitement of waiting anxiously on the platform as the older students hustled towards the carriages would forever be remembered by all the first years. So, will the boat ride across the lake, where Professor Thirteen accompanied them in the little boats, where Mina, Momo, and Jirou got into a boat together, with Tsuyu ending in one with the green haired boy and a black-haired boy with a birdish face. Uraraka sat in the front of the boat with the boy Mina waved at and the grumpy blonde who was with him in the compartment. Momo could practically see Uraraka restraining herself from bouncing the boat with excitement, and Momo herself was feeling a spring of nerves gurgling with exuberance as the boats magically floated across the lake. After a couple minutes, the boats finally rounded a bend, and everyone gasped loudly as Hogwarts came into view.

It was so much better than her father had described to her. She wasn't even sure if she could describe just how wonderful it was.

After docking and climbing out, Momo followed the crowd as they walked towards the large entrance doors that were somehow more welcoming then foreboding. Professor Thirteen knocked three times on the doors, the knocks vibrating loudly. A few seconds later, and the doors opened to a tall man with shaggy black hair and a cut under his eye. He looked very tired. He peered critically down at all of them before addressing Thirteen.

"This is them huh?" Thirteen nodded and walked inside, leaving the first years with the tired man. He sighed, and beckoned them to follow him.

"Come with me, and don't slack behind. I won't be looking back for any stragglers so if you miss the sorting ceremony because you wander off don't blame me."

This caused all the first years to hurry after him, none of them wanting to be the straggler he talked about.

He led them off to a large room, where he introduced himself finally after closing the door behind a short boy with purple, grape like hair with a snap.

"I'm Professor Aizawa. Potions master of this school and head of Slytherin house. Now, what is going to happen, is in a few minutes I will take you to the Great Hall, where you will be sorted into your houses. I trust you all already know what the houses are, but it's mandatory that I tell you so I will explain anyway. You have Hufflepuff, where the ones who value loyalty go. Then you have Gryffindor, where the ones who value bravery above all else go. Then Slytherin, where ambitiousness thrives. And finally, Ravenclaw, they value the pursuit of knowledge. Everyone got all that?" he called out, and when everyone grumbled yes- the boy with glasses from before saying a loud "yes professor!"- he sighed in content.

"Good. I'll be back, don't leave this room." And then he left.

The talk turned nervous, and people started asking about how the sorting was done. The curly haired freckled boy started spouting possible sorting methods -one involved having to pin or break robots to earn points which would determine which house you were in somehow- while another was a rumor that you had to dual a seventh year. None of his theories really made sense, but it did a good job of making Momo nervous, and she started reciting the spells she knew that could come in handy under her breath. The fuming blonde didn't seem to like the curly boy saying all this, and he started yelling at him to shut up. The freckled boy jumped and started running around the outside of everyone as the loud blonde started chasing him, waving his wand in the air threateningly.

After a few minutes of listening to the freckled and fuming boy arguing, Professor Aizawa finally came back into the room and beckoned them to follow him, his eyebrow quirking up at the two boys as they both came to a screeching halt. He didn't pursue the problem though, and just continued talking as if he didn't see anything.

"Come along in lines of two, it's time for the sorting."

The anxiety of the sorting all kind of formed into a blur.

Momo remembers realizing they were calling out names alphabetically, which meant she was going to be the last one to be sorted, and focusing very hard on looking just like her parents had taught her so she at least didn't look scared being the last one up here.

Mina was the first one called to the sorting hat, which the first years had all breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing. The freckled boy's ramblings had scared them all a little bit.

Mina skipped towards the hat excitedly, and as Professor Aizawa placed the hat onto her head her brilliant eyes vanished within the folds of the hat. A moment later, the hat shouted "HUFFLEPUFF" and Mina took off the hat and, grinning ear to ear, skip ran to the loudly cheering table.

Tsuyu was called next, and she was the first Gryffindor to be sorted.

Aizawa called out the name: "Bakugou, Katsuki." and the angry blonde strutted up to the stool. The hat was on his head for a while, before finally shouting "SLYTHERIN!" and Bakugou looked just as angry as he stomped towards the Slytherin table and sat down in an empty space.

The glasses wearing boy was called next, his name being revealed as "Iida, Tenya.". He was the first person who was sorted into Ravenclaw.

Jirou jumped besides Momo as her name was called, and she hurried forward.

"GRYFFINDOR!" Called the hat, and Jirou ran off to join Tsuyu.

"Kaminari, Denki." The blonde with a black wave in his hair was sorted into Hufflepuff.

"Kirishima, Eijirou" was called, and the red headed boy stumbled to the stool. The hat hadn't even covered his eyes before it shouted "GRYFFINDOR!" and Kirishima ran with a brilliant smile to the table, and Momo could have sworn she saw him wipe away a tear as "Kouda, Koji" was sorted into Hufflepuff.

"Midoriya, Izuku." Aizawa called, and the curly green haired freckle boy tripped on his way to the stool, and amongst the stifled laughter he got up red faced, and sat on the stool. Unlike Kirishima, the hat covered his eyes, but it also soon shouted "GRYFFINDOR!", and off Midoriya trotted, his eyes bright and an almost painfully bright smile on his face.

"Mineta, Minoru." Was sorted into Slytherin.

"Ojiro, Misharao." Went to Gryffindor, and then "Sato, Rikido" did as well.

"Sero, Hanta." Also went to Hufflepuff, and he bounded to sit with Mina and Kaminari.

Next "Shoji Mezo." Went to Hufflepuff.

And then the boy with the bird like face was called up when Professor Aizawa called up "Tokoyami, Fumikage" and he went to Gryffindor as well.

Momo patted Uraraka supportively on the back when her name was called. On wobbly legs, Uraraka walked towards the stool and sat down with bated breath. The hat sat for a moment, before calling out "GRYFFINDOR!". Momo clapped with all the other students as Uraraka politely handed the hat back to Professor Aizawa, and then she ran with a skip in her steps to sit next to Tsuyu and Jirou, and across from Midoriya who blushed as she beamed at him.

It was only Momo and another boy, and she was surprised when she was called forward first.

"Yaoyorozu, Momo."

She hurried just like everyone else to the stool, and she faced a jump of surprise as she turned to sit down and saw the sea of people watching her before the hat fell onto her head. A second later she heard it scream: "RAVENCLAW!" and she excitedly took the hat off her head and nodded to Professor Aizawa as she handed it to him, and then excitement took over and she ran to the Ravenclaw table where Iida was gesturing for her to come sit with him, and she did so beaming with swelling happiness.

Looking across the Great Hall, Momo saw all the other first years smiling, even grumpy Bakugou was having a hard time keeping a grin down, and as headmaster Nedzu got up and gave his speech and then called forth the food, Momo made eye contact with the other girls, and they all beamed at each other.

They were officially Hogwarts students.

The start of the next seven years was starting now.

Five years later, they were all still friends.

The train ride to Hogwarts had become crowded with more people from across all the houses over the years- though Bakugou was the only Slytherin. To fit all of them into some sort of group, they had to take up two compartments. Momo still sat with Mina, Jirou, and Ochako (Uraraka insisted in second year that everyone called her by her first name), and Tsuyu. Except now the five boys from their first train ride were with them as well.

It was a ritual for them all to gather in one compartment when the food trolley came, and whoever ate the least last year paid for this year. It might have made more sense to have whoever ate the most must pay, but Ochako was incredibly poor and since she always ate so much, they had the least pay as their way of making sure Ochako ate without having to worry about paying. Because Momo knows she's the richest out of everyone, she often purposefully eats the least so she must pay. And since the second year where this ritual started, Momo's had to pay for 4 train rides.

She didn't mind, she much more appreciates the look of happiness on her friends faces as they dived into the array of foods she'd bought then actually eating it herself. And listening to all the exciting news her friends always had was much easier to listen to when you weren't stuffing your face.

This year, the exciting news had been universal, and all they talked about the whole train ride to Hogwarts.

The Triwizard Tournament was happening this year.

~Chapter 1~

"Hey Yaomomo! What do you know about Durmstrang and Beauxbaton?" Kaminari called out to her, and as she turned to look towards him, he, Sero, and Mina jogged to walk alongside her. Reaching where she'd stopped, Mina hooked her arm through Momo's while Kaminari skidded to walk next to her and Sero next to him. They were all looking at her expectantly, so Momo reached into her brain for the little she knew of the other wizarding schools.

"Well," Momo started, taking a step forward with Mina and the rest following as they started walking to Herbology. "I know more about Beauxbaton than Durmstrang. My mother attended Beauxbaton, and she's told me a little bit about what it was like when she went there."

"Really?" Mina inquired, her voice peaked with curiosity. "How did your parents meet then if she went to school in France and your dad went to Hogwarts?"

"Oh, well they were betrothed. Both come from long pure blood families, and her family was falling short in fortune and managed to get a betrothal contract with my father's family who's very influential in the ministry."

"Oh wow, pure bloods really do live in a different world! Betrothal contracts and all that doesn't happen with half-bloods." Mina stated, as they reached the large doors leading to the grounds. Sero whistled in agreement.

"Yeah, and it definitely doesn't happen with muggleborns!"

Momo shrugged, a little embarrassed that they were so fascinated at something she had been raised to think was normal.

"Yes, well, I guess it's not exactly romantic, but it's practical in some cases." She shifted her book bag more securely on her shoulder as they started walking toward the greenhouses, where people in black robes and vests of scarlet and green could be seen exiting. "For example, in the olden days it was considered the only option as muggles and the magical world were at odds-"

"That's fascinating Yaomomo, but before we go _too_ far off topic you were gonna tell us about Beauxbaton!" Kaminari cut in, and Momo blinked as she had almost forgotten how they'd come into the subject of arraigned marriages.

"Oh right. Thank you for reminding me!"

And so Momo started giving them a quick summary of the little she knew about Beauxbaton, as they neared the green houses. Momo stopped talking when they passed the group of students coming from Herbology. They all raised their hands and waved at their passing friends of Gryffindor, with Ochako, Midoriya, and Kirishima waving back. Kyouka was sick today with a common cold, and even though it had been cured by the hospital wings nurse Madame Recovery already, she was going through a checkup and wouldn't be allowed out until lunch.

"See you guys at lunch!" Ochako hollered cheerfully to them, amplifying her shout with a hand cupped around her mouth while the other waved. Momo smiled at her and waved in agreement while Mina gave two thumbs up and shouted back,

"See ya then!"

They next passed the Slytherins, and Bakugou was noticeable immediately by his posture and loud mouth.

At seeing him, Momo's Hufflepuff friends took it upon themselves to start hollering cheerful and friendly things at him.

"HEY BAKUGOU! WE ARE GOING TO HANG OUT AT LUNCH, WANNA JOIN?" Mina called, bringing both hands to cup around her mouth, moving Momo's still hooked arm with her.

"FUCK NO!" Was Bakugou's simple response. Kaminari chimed in at this point.

"AH COME ON MAN! IT'LL BE FUN! AT LEAST COME JOIN US GUYS IF YOU DON'T WANNA BE AROUND GIRLS!"

"YEAH BRO! WE'RE GONNA CHILL NEAR THE LAKE AND THROW STONES!"

Bakugou's answer was still the same, and as they moved past the Slytherin's, Momo withheld a laugh as she heard Kirishima shouting back at Bakugou,

"COME ON BRO IT'LL BE AWESOME! MIDORIYA SET A NEW RECORD FOR SKIPPING STONES AND WE'RE GOING TO TRY AND BEAT IT!"

There was a pause, and as they finally reached the green houses, they heard Bakugou faintly shout: "FUCKING FINE! I'LL GO AND BEAT DEKU'S SHITTY RECORD AND THEN PISS OFF TO DO SOMETHING ACTUALLY FUN!"

Momo sighed, he had such a foul mouth. She wasn't the only one to think so, as Iida Tenya harrumphed in displeasure. It wasn't a surprise to Momo that Iida was already at the green houses before everyone else, he had a talent for arriving early to whatever class it was.

As they walked to join him at the green house door, Iida shook his head, his prefect badge gleaming in the light.

"Another year and still a horrible temper. I don't understand why Professor Aizawa made him a prefect!" None of them had an answer, so they just chatted about school until the rest of the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws joined them.

Professor Thirteen opened the green house door then, and they all shuffled in and the lesson started.

Momo paid excellent attention, as usual, and as she and Mina attempted to extract pods without getting their hands tangled by the plant vines Momo was as vigilant as ever.

But, in the back of her mind, she found herself wondering what Durmstrang was like.

Lunch time finally arrived, and Momo and Iida walked into the Great Hall together, comparing notes on their most recent Ancient Runes lesson.

Lunch was the only time where inter-house mingling was allowed, and students from different houses could bring their plates and sit at any table they pleased to chat with friends. There were more students than normal fluttering around the Great Hall, the new additions sporting light blue robes and obvious French accents. They were from Beauxbaton, who had arrived two days earlier for the Triwizard Tournament.

Durmstrang had yet to arrive, but was expected any day now. Or that's what Professor Midnight, head of Ravenclaw, had told Momo when she asked.

The air was filled with excitement, as the Hogwarts students were excited for Beauxbaton being there and for Durmstrang's arrival. At the Gryffindor table, Midoriya called over Iida, and Momo saw Kyouka, Ochako, and Tsuyu beckoning her to join them a couple seats down from Midoriya. Moving to join their friends, Momo and Iida sat down and Momo pulled a plate towards her.

"How are you feeling Kyouka? Are you better?" Momo inquired, piling a salad onto her plate. Kyouka nodded, swallowing her peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

"Yeah I feel a lot better. Madame Recovery's cold potions really work fast."

"Oh, I'm glad!" Momo said, and their conversation dwindled as they all ate into a comfortable silence.

Mina suddenly appeared, plunking down across from Momo and next to Tsuyu, quickly grabbing food and stuffing it onto her plate. They all stared at how fast she was eating.

"Whoa Mina, you being timed or something?" Kyouka asked in disbelief as Mina shoved a roll ham sandwich into her mouth. Pink flounced side to side as Mina shook her head, swallowing hard.

"No, I just want to eat quickly so I can use the rest of lunch hanging out near the lake!" Momo remembered then the conversation the boys had had earlier.

"Oh, is Bakugou really going to try and beat Midoriya's new "record'' in skipping rocks?"

Mina nodded.

"Yeah! And according to Eij he's super fired up about it so I have to watch!" Ochako leaned forward, interested, and asked with her chin on her hands and a smile on her face,

"Sounds fun! Can I come watch too?" Along Mina's muffled sounds of "sure!" Momo looked up at the ceiling. Through the enchantment cast on it, you could see the sky outside as well as if you stepped outdoors and looked up. Seeing a nice soothing blue sky, with clouds dotted here and there, Momo thought it was a good day to study outside.

"May I come as well?" Momo asked, looking back down from the sky and smiling. "It's a nice day to be outside, and sitting near the lake and reading a book is always pleasant!" Mina grinned at both Ochako and Momo.

"Of course! The more the merrier!"

The calm waters of the black lake was serene to gaze out to, and Momo found a nice tree to sit under while the boys- Bakugou, Kaminari, Sero, Kirishima, Midoriya, and the convinced to come Iida- were huddled at the lake shore scouring for good stones to throw. Occasionally one of the would stand up triumphantly and pocket a stone, before going back to look for more.

Momo had played a couple times, and she was told it was a variant of a muggle game where you'd find a smooth stone and throw it in just the right way so it'd bounce of the water. The goal was to try and get it to skip as many times as possible. The version they played however, had them using a hovering charm to pick up the stone, and then toss it using the charm instead of throwing it with your hands. It was both a fun game and a good practice of magic.

Momo was ex-qualified from playing, as she'd figured out the year before multiple equations that would make the stone bounce exactly 15 times before sinking, and she had done so using variables such as the smoothness of the stone, the movement of the water, and the tilt at which the rock hit the waves. Really, it was complex math. The others, who didn't understand her equations when she tried explaining it, claimed what she was doing was "not allowed" and "cheating". Momo was still a little huffy that, apparently, using her brain was cheating.

But she much preferred to relax with a book then play anyway, so being banned from the game wasn't as bad as she had thought it would be.

There was a nice breeze today, and Momo closed her eyes with a hum and leaned against the bark of the tree, listening to the sounds of nature that surrounded her.

Ochako and Mina were helping collect stones, and Momo was close enough that she could hear them laughing together as they helped Bakugou angrily find his stones away from the others.

A couple moments later and the game finally started, and Ochako and Mina joined Momo under the tree to watch.

Momo got lost in her book, and wasn't paying much attention to the game nor anyone around her. She sometimes heard shouting and laughter, but rarely looked up as the words and the pages drew her deeper and deeper into them.

"Oh! Isn't that Professor Nezu?"

That got Momo's attention, and she snapped her gaze away from the book and looked towards Ochako, who was pointing up the shore. Closing her book, Momo's face grew surprised as sure enough, Professor Nezu- Headmaster of Hogwarts- stood on the shore looking across it expectantly. A figure robed in silky blue was with him.

"It is! And that's Beauxbaton's Headmistress Madame Uwabami!" Momo said, and Mina moved closer to Momo and Ochako's side of the tree so she could see them for herself. Standing on her knees, Mina put her hands on Ochako's shoulder and shielded her eyes, peering towards the Headmasters and letting out a curious "oooh"

"What do you think they're waiting for?" Mina asked, looking over at Momo. Momo bit her lip as she thought.

"I'm not sure…" Momo admitted, but as she looked out across the grounds, she saw Beauxbaton studens and Hogwarts ones filing out of the castle and the large Beauxbaton carriage. The gathering of all them could only mean one thing.

"I, think they might be waiting for Durmstrang to arrive!" Momo said excitedly, and Mina and Ochako let out a squeal of excitement.

"Really? What makes you think so?" Ochako asked eagerly. Momo pointed towards the large number of students being ushered to stay on the lake side of the grounds by teachers.

"I assume it's why they're gathering a lot of students. If not for the arrival of Durmstrang, it must be important enough to make sure a lot of students see it." Momo stated. "We should all probably go over there and see what's going on."

After gathering the boys and filling them in on what they thought was going on, they all started walking towards the gaggle of students and teachers. Professor Aizawa saw them walking towards them, and strode to meet them halfway.

"I'm glad you all had the sense to see everyone gathering and come join. Some people didn't have the thought to do that." He's eyes swept over them, and he pinpointed the few with prefect badges. "Prefects, I ask that you go to your common rooms quickly and tell all students fifth year and up, to gather near the lake. Durmstrang will be arriving soon and Headmaster Nedzu wants all fifth and up present." He then walked off, and Iida, Momo, Bakugou, Kirishima, and Ochako all left to perform the prefect duties he asked of them.

Half an hour later and the prefects went and joined their house mates, in standing behind their house head, who in turn were standing behind the headmasters. Momo stood behind Professor Midnight, and as she looked around she noticed with amusement that the houses were organized exactly like their house tables.

Gryffindor was on the far left, with Hufflepuff next to them. And Ravenclaw was in the middle of Hufflepuff and Slytherin, who was on the far right. Next to the Slytherins, was the twelve Beauxbaton students, standing behind one of their teachers, a large man with boar like teeth and a heavyset brow. Momo vaguely remembered them calling him "Professor Vlad" or something similar.

Maybe another twenty minutes later, and Momo's breath caught in her throat as a ripple appeared on the surface of the lake. At first it was small, but then it became larger, and larger, until a slim pole jutted out of it. Following the pole, was the large ship it was attached to.

Surfacing out of the water like a whale breaching the sea, the ship slammed into the lake as it fell from its upright position it had emerged in, onto its bow. Its sails unfurled, revealing the symbol of Durmstrang.

The ship sailed close to shore, and Professor Nezu opened his arms in welcome. A magically extending plank fell from the ship to the shore, and a tall, broad figure soon strode onto it and towards Professor Nezu.

"Ah! Professor Endeavor! I welcome you and your school to my own!" Spoke Professor Nezu.

The man was intimidating. He wasn't as tall as Professor All Might, but he did tower over most of the other teachers. His red hair stood out against the black of his ship. He was also incredibly broad, and he walked with a lot of confidence towards Professor Nezu. He let out a deep laugh, that sounded more jarring to Momo then friendly.

"Thank you Professor Nezu, I see you're still well." Endeavor turned and looked towards Uwabami, who gave him what Momo's mother called "a professional smile". Meaning that it didn't have any natural meaning behind it, and was used to seem polite. "Beauxbaton is also here already. I take it that means everything is going according to plan?" Endeavor's smile looked eager.

"Yes! We will start tomorrow!" Professor Nezu replied.

Professor Endeavor soon went back onto his ship, telling Professor Nezu that his students would join them all for dinner. They wouldn't leave the ship till then.

The crowd scattered after that, and went on their day as usual. Except when looking out windows facing towards the lake, the black masts of the Durmstrang ship could be seen.

Fourth years and down- who weren't called to watch Durmstrang arrive- were brimming with questions.

"How did it come out of the water?"

"What type of spell do you think they used to travel under water?"

and "did you see any of the students? Were they hot?" were just some of the questions Momo was asked that day. It had all quickly became tiring, and Momo was relieved when classes were over for the day so the questions could stop. And, so study group could begin!

She met Kaminari, Kirishima, Mina, Kouda (a quiet Hufflepuff), Kyouka, and Ochako in the Great Hall for their usual Wednesday study group. It was a time when Momo would help them with their studies: she'd let them look at her notes, she'd read through their essays, and they would all help each other the best they could. Momo was appointed head of the study group, since most of the time it was _her_ helping the others, and rarely was it ever the other way around.

"Let's do study group outside today!" Kaminari said, his eyes gleaming. "We can find a place near the lake, one with a good look at the Durmstrang ship! Ya know, so we can look at it while we study!" Everyone agreed with him, they were all curious about Durmstrang after all. Momo led them to a tree near the lake, it was on a little overhand above the water, and pretty close to the Durmstrang ship without getting to close.

"Wow it looks so cool! What do you think the inside is like?!" Kaminari asked, but before the others could answer and they'd fall into a hole of imagining, Momo interjected.

"You can ask a Durmstrang student some point this year Kaminari, right now we are here to study. And if the ship is too distracting I will move us all inside." Momo folded her arms and sat down elegantly on the grass. Grumbling, Kaminari sat across from her and pulled out his school books, his back to the ship.

They formed a U like shape, with Momo and Kaminari at the two ends. Kirishima sat by himself facing the water at the very end with Ochako and Kouda on both sides. Ochako, and Kyouka sat on Kaminari's side, while Mina and Kouda sat on Momo's. They soon all set to work, and twenty minutes later Momo was done with her homework. Looking up, she saw Kaminari reading his Transfiguration book his eyes glazed and a rock in his hand that he idly moved across his fingertips. Mina was deep in a conversation with Ochako, both comparing notes on divination. while Jirou, Kouda, and Kirishima were also reading.

None of them needing her help, Momo decided to stretch her arms up, she had been in a rather un-lady like hunched position while she worked, and her muscles had cramped. Closing her eyes, Momo let her arms fall onto the grass and she leaned on them behind her. It was a nice evening. The sun was starting to set over the mountains, and a cool breeze tickled her face and ponytailed hair as it brushed past her.

It was so peaceful.

Opening her eyes, Momo's eyes landed on the black ship of Durmstrang. She wondered what being in Durmstrang was like. She wondered that a lot in fifth year, when her parents admitted that Momo had been accepted into Beauxbaton as well as Hogwarts, but her parents wanted her to be closer to them so hid the Beauxbaton letter from her. She didn't regret their decision nor the choice of coming to Hogwarts, it just miffed her a little bit that her parents didn't let her choose for herself. She remembered how overbearing Professor Endeavor had looked, and wondered if he was actually like that or if she was just reading him wrong. As her eyes looked across the completely empty deck of Durmstrang, Momo had a suspicious feeling that she hadn't read him wrong.

She shifted her gaze to the mountains behind the Durmstrang ship, but movement caught her eye and made her snap her attention back to the Durmstrang ship. Someone was on deck.

Her breath caught in her throat as a student walked into view. It was a boy, and his movements were cautious as he walked over to the railing. He grasped the railing in his hands and leaned over, and Momo felt her heart beat faster.

His hair was white and red. And it looked natural- or at least, it did from the distance Momo was to him. She couldn't make out any distinguishing features besides his odd colored hair, the dimming light of the setting sun distorting her vision too much to pinpoint anything about him, but for some reason her heart was still beating faster from just looking at him.

Her curiosity peaked as he seemed to reach one of his hands to trace something on the left side of his face, but again, the distance she was at made it impossible for Momo to see what he was touching. Momo held her breath as he put his hand down, his white hair catching the setting rays of the sun almost picture perfectly.

Momo was wondering what she should do- whether she should keep looking or respect that boy's privacy- when Kaminari decided he was done playing with the rock, and threw it over the side of the overhand and into the water, creating a huge splash. The suddenness of it made Momo jump, but as she looked around at her friends, none of them had reacted to it. They were all engrossed in their homework, Kirishima repeating something under his breath and Ochako was scratching her head. None of _them_ may have looked when the rock was thrown, but as Momo looked back over at the Durmstrang ship, she saw the boy on the deck looking directly at her.

His hand was covering the left side of his face, but Momo could tell he was staring at her intensely. Her pulse quickened and she wanted to panic, but she forced herself to calm down and think. The boy was still staring at her, and Momo didn't want to appear rude, so she lifted a hand and waved at him, putting a friendly smile on her face.

He was still for a moment, just staring at her, and Momo started to wonder if she had done something wrong, when he lowered his left hand and started to wave back. He wasn't able to fully wave back however- as a faint slamming sound was heard and the boy turned sharply to see whoever had slammed the door. Momo bit her lip as Endeavor strode into view, his face furious. She ducked her head down, not wanting to be caught. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but she pretended to look busy so if Endeavor did look over at her, she would look innocent. Which, Momo supposed she was. There wasn't a rule against being friendly after all, so technically, Momo did nothing wrong.

She highly doubted Endeavor would care though, so she kept her head down.

A few minutes later, she dared looked up again, and she felt relief as she saw Endeavor's retreating back. The boy was standing stock still watching him go, before he started following him stiffly. But then he stopped, his duo-colored hair blowing gently in the breeze, and turned to face Momo again.

Seeing her looking at him, he raised a hand and waved, before turning and striding after Endeavor and out of sight.

Watching him go, Momo felt her heart finally start slowing its beats. Swallowing, Momo absently looked around at her friends, they didn't look like they saw anything. They were still consumed with finishing their homework. Looking back at the ship, Momo remembered Professor Endeavor telling Professor Nezu that "My students will be introduced at dinner."

Biting her lip, Momo looked anxiously down at her watch to check when dinner started.

The Great Hall was filled with chatter as Momo walked in, her friends trailing behind her tiredly. Bidding each other good night, they all moved to their respective house tables and sat down. The Ravenclaws dark blue was now joined by light blue, as Beauxbaton had chosen their table to sit at.

Momo found Iida and sat across from him, her back to the Slytherin table. She waited the next few minutes as the last few people sat down anxiously. She really wanted to see the Durmstrang students now- or, if she was being honest with herself- she just really wanted to see the boy from the deck in the light and up close. He refused to leave her thoughts as she waited for her friends to be ready for dinner, and she cursed the dim light of the setting sun that refused her from getting a good look at him.

Finally, Professor Nezu stood up, and silence fell over the Hall. Clearing his throat, he began.

"As you all know by now, we have the honor of hosting the Triwizard Tournament this year, a wonderful event designed to strengthen school unity and form bonds! A few days ago, we were joined by the lovely students of Beauxbaton." He paused, and Headmistress Uwabami stood up from her seat at the house table, smiling kindly at the applause her school was receiving.

"And, I'm sure you know as well, that the Triwizard Tournament isn't just our two schools. It's a tournament built for three, and so to fulfill that criteria of three, May I introduce to you all- Durmstrang Institution! and their Headmaster, Professor Endeavor!"

The double doors to the Great Hall burst open, and Professor Endeavor strode in with the confidence of the minister. He was wearing large blood red robes, with hints of orange adorning the edges that gave the garment the look of being on fire at the ends. But Momo's attention wasn't on Endeavor, nor did it seem most students were.

Following immediately behind Endeavor, in Durmstrang's rose red robes and draped in a fur lined cloak- was the boy from the deck.

Momo gasped as she saw him in the light.

He was gorgeous.

He's dual color hair wasn't just white and red, no.

The right was a pure white that reminded Momo of the freshly lain snow that littered the alps, glistening in the candle light like the snow reflected the rising sun. It had the look, that if you touched it, it would slide through your fingers like water but be as smooth as ice to the touch. On the left, the red reminded Momo of a crimson painting. Each strand was a perfect stroke of a brush, painted by a pro who put detail and life into every streak of crimson. As he walked, the red swayed in such a way that it reminded Momo of a candles fire, being blown in the slightest of breeze. Both colors met in the middle, and down the center bangs which fell between his eyes in an undistinguishable line. Momo couldn't tell where the red ended or the white began and vice versa.

Saying his face was attractive, would be an understatement. As she watched him stride into the room after Professor Endeavor, Momo wasn't sure if even the most skillful of poet or musician would be able to describe just how attractive he was. Momo's eyes found the left side of his face, and she felt a jolt of surprise run through her as she realized just what he had been hiding on the deck- he had a scar. It was light red in color, and surrounded the entirety of his left eye and around. It stopped before his nose, and was slightly above the cheek bone as it curved to run behinds his red bangs. Despite being large and hard to ignore, it didn't detract from his looks, instead it added to them a mysterious edge.

Momo noted with interest, as his eyes swept across the Hall, that he had heterochromia. His right eye, was a steel gray, while his left was a piercing sea green. Despite being surrounded by a clearly nasty to get scar, his left eye seemed to work fine. And as he looked around the great hall again, Momo realized with a chill how icy his stare was.

Unlike his fellow Durmstrang student's, who were looking around with curiosity, he was looking around with a look of indifference. And as Momo watched, his gaze shifted from the Great Hall to Professor Endeavor's back, where his eyes narrowed into a chilling glare.

Glancing around the Great Hall, Momo noticed a particularly tall Gryffindor- who she dimly remembered being Inasa Yoarashi- was also giving Professor Endeavor a mean glare. Though his was not as chilling as the Durmstrang boys was.

At the Hufflepuff table, Momo saw Mina and a few others, rising slightly in their seats to get a better look at him, and Momo could see a couple Gryffindor's and Ravenclaw's doing so as well. Momo was sure, that if she looked behind her, she'd also see a few Slytherin's doing it too.

Mina's mouth seemed to be stuck in an "O" position, and Sero and Kaminari had to pull her back into her seat before she could stand fully. Momo wasn't surprised, Mina had always been more susceptible to good looks then the others, and since even Momo was being affected with how handsome this Durmstrang boy was, it wasn't a surprise Mina was having such a large reaction.

After observing her friends and others, Momo turned her attention back to him. He had walked past her now, and was almost to the end of the Great Hall were the High table was. As she watched his retreating back, he turned his head and looked back at her.

A thrill of surprise went through Momo, and as his sea green eye looked at her with a hint of recognition, Momo realized with embarrassment that he recognized her as the girl who saw him on the deck. Before she had time to really react to his gaze, he looked forward again.

Reaching the end of the hall, Professor Endeavor turned and looked critically at all the students with an air of judgment. His students stopped behind him and waited, their backs straight and arms tight against their sides. Momo realized with interest, that the good looking Durmstrang was the only one who wore a fur lined cloak, everyone else was just wearing the normal rose red uniforms with no cloak. This had to mean he was important in some way.

Professor Nezu smiled at the Durmstrang students, and he asked Endeavor good naturedly, his eyes landing on the handsome one.

"I'm glad to see all your students are in good health!"

"I only brought the best and most healthy students with me, so I should hope they all look healthy." Was Endeavor's reply. Gesturing to the good looking one, Professor Nezu asked curiously,

"And this is your son, isn't it?" Endeavor nodded. Momo didn't hear what he said, as a bunch of whispering had started the moment Endeavor confirmed it.

'That would explain the special cloak." Momo mused, and now that she looked closer, she supposed Endeavor's hair and his were a very similar red. Though Endeavor's, didn't look as good on him, as it did on his son.

Professor Endeavor then told his students to sit down at the Slytherin table, and as they followed his instructions he moved to his seat at the High table next to Professor All Might. They seemed to know each other, as Professor All Might raised his hand as if greeting an old friend, only for Professor Endeavor to give him something close to a sneer in return.

Glancing over her shoulder, Momo couldn't see where the handsome Durmstrang boy had sat, but she had a good guess at where he was, judging by all the Slytherin girls attempting to switch seats with none other than Bakugou, who looked ready to explode if one more person asked to sit where he was.

As the food appeared on the tables, Momo ate in silence, her mind working in overtime to try and solve the mysterious feeling that this year, was going to change her life forever.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day after breakfast, Professor Nezu excused all students fifth year and down to go to their classes, while sixth year and seventh stayed. After the hall was empty of all the younger students, Momo and Iida were two of the remaining five people in their year still seated at the Ravenclaw table, while there were 8 seventh years left. The Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and Gryffindor tables were also empty of all but a handful of people, and all the Beauxbaton and Durmstrang students remained.

Bakugou was sitting as far away from the handsome Durmstrang student, who was looking uninterested down at his plate, as possible. The frequent glares Bakugou was sending towards him was about as many as he sends towards Midoriya when they're in a room together. Which, for the record, was a lot.

Professor Nezu finally started talking, bringing everyone's attention to him.

"Hello and good morning to our guests from Beauxbaton and Durmstrang, as well as my own students! I'm sure you're all eager to head off to classes and spend the day getting your heads crammed with knowledge, but I'm afraid you'll have to wait a couple minutes as I have some important matters to discuss about the Triwizard Tournament!" There was some exciting murmuring amongst the students, and Momo herself sat up straighter, Iida did as well.

Midoriya was drumming his fingers anxiously on the table, and Bakugou took his leg off the bench where he had placed it, a sign Professor Nezu had his full attention. The handsome Durmstrang student didn't even look around when a sixth year Slytherin girl who was sitting next to him kept trying to scoot closer and closer discreetly, he was too busy giving Nezu his rapt attention.

"As you know, the qualifying age to participate in the tournament is 16, which you all are either currently or older. Meaning, you can all choose to enter the tournament if you so wish." He raised his wand, and with a wave of his hand he summoned a large, golden goblet. Momo stared at the goblet curiously, not sure what its purpose was. Gesturing to it, Nezu explained, "This, is the Goblet of Fire. If you wish to enter the Tournament, you will write your name and school on a piece of parchment, fold it, and then throw it into the goblet. Then, in one day on October 1, the goblet will pick three champions. You have until four pm tomorrow night to put in your name, because at dinner, we will choose the champions." Professor Nezu waited for a dramatic moment, before continuing.

"The Goblet will be placed in the Entrance Hall, so put your name in at your own leisure. But! I do warn you to think hard before you do, this decision could change your life after all. The three tasks will be perilous, and will need you to think quick on your feet. It will not be easy in any way, and once your name is called, you will stand alone. You will become the champion that represents your school, and the moment you step foot into a task- You are alone. No help will come unless you are in grave danger, no teacher will correct you if you make a mistake, and most importantly- No headmaster or judge is going to favor you. You may represent your school, but that does not mean your school will represent you." His words reverberated around the hall, the weight of it all made the air in the room feel heavy. Momo felt anxious, and she chewed her bottom lip as she glanced around at her friends. The Gryffindor's all looked determined, except for Midoriya, who looked serious and thoughtful.

The Hufflepuffs and other Ravenclaws had serious considering faces, while the Slytherin's were split between looking sure of themselves or unsure. Bakugou, fell in the first one. He had a wicked gleam in his eye and a challenging grin on his face.

The Durmstrang students were almost impossible to read, their faces set in either neutral expressions or scowls. Handsome however, had his hand on the table clenched in a tight fist, and his jaw was set in determination. But other than that, his actual facial expression was set in something akin to a scowl.

Momo frowned as she heard a Beauxbaton, a boy with his blonde hair combed and coiffed, say rather loudly "I feel sorry for whoever becomes the Hogwarts champion, they're representing such a lousy and unstylish school after all, that must be the pinnacle of disappointing.". He was shushed by a girl with her orange hair in a side pony, who looked over at him annoyed. Momo closed her eyes and put her hands together, under the table, praying that Bakugou- who was practically sitting right behind her- didn't hear the boy's words. It was to no avail however, as not only did Bakugou hear, but he jumped up and yelled furiously at the Beauxbaton student.

"WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN YOU BEAUXBATON BASTARD?!" All eyes were on the seething Bakugou, who had his hand shoved inside his robe. The Beauxbaton student shrugged smugly.

"What's what supposed to mean? You heard me, didn't you? My words were rather clear I thought."

Bakugou took a step forward, his hand starting to withdraw, but he stopped when he remembered all the teachers watching. Violently shoving his wand back into his pocket, Bakugou sneered at the boy threateningly.

"You call Hogwarts lousy, yet Beauxbatfucks allows people like you-"

"That's enough Bakugou. Sit down." Professor Aizawa's voice cut across whatever offensive thing was about to be said. Bakugou started, glaring up at Aizawa and opening his mouth, but then he clamped it shut and shot one last venomous glare towards the Beauxbaton before stomping back to his seat. Across from her, Iida sagged down in his seat a little in shame.

Madam Uwabami, seated between Professor Midnight and Professor Aizawa, sent a disapproving look to the Beauxbaton boy who made a defensive gesture back at her, and her look narrowed slightly.

Professor Nezu started talking again like he hadn't been interrupted at all.

"But, if you think you're up for the challenge, then by all means write your name and school on that little piece of parchment and throw it in the Goblet! Remember, if you want to put your name in you must do it by tomorrow night by four pm sharp. To give you a moment to consider this option before heading to class, your first lessons of the day are cancelled, so you have an hour till your next one to think seriously on whether you will participate. That is all I have to say, so enjoy the rest of your day!" Professor Nezu waved his wand, and he and the Goblet of fire disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Silence enveloped the room for a moment, everyone lost in thought of whether they should enter. It was a tough decision, for your life could change forever depending on what you chose.

The silence was broken by Bakugou laughing. He stood up loudly, crashing his hands on the table and bringing attention over to him. His gaze swept over everyone, a challenging smirk on his face.

"I'LL SEE YOU ALL SITTING IN THE STANDS YA WORTHLESS FUCKS!"

And then he strode out with his hands shoved in his pockets.

When the door slammed shut behind him, the Great Hall started moving again.

Iida hide his face and let a deep, pained sigh escape. Momo reached across the table and patted his shoulder in a sign of comfort.

"That was very Bakugou, wasn't it?" Momo said, letting out a small sigh herself, looking at were Bakugou was leaving.

"He could represent the entire school if he becomes champion. And THAT'S the type of impression people might get of our school. "ya worthless…" I can't believe he said that to fellow classmates and foreign ones!" Iida exclaimed through his hands, and Momo nodded solemnly.

"It is a possibility."

Iida let out another sigh, before sitting up straight again and looking up to the opposite wall, his face deep in concentration.

Removing her hand, Momo glanced around the Great Hall at everyone.

Her Gryffindor friends were all huddled together, Kirishima looked determined and was pumping his arm into the air enthusiastically. Jirou, Ochako, and Tokoyami looked unsure, and Midoriya wasn't paying attention, he was still looking through the door were Bakugou disappeared through with trouble in his eyes.

Mina, Kaminari, and Sero looked rather stoked, and they were patting Shouji on the shoulder for something he said. Kouda huddled next to Kaminari looking nervous.

The sound of a chair's legs scrapping the floor came from the High table, and Madame Uwabami stood up elegantly, her face passive.

"Monoma, walk with me to the carriage please."

The blonde Beauxbaton nodded, now looking a little nervous as he stood up and followed his headmistress out of the Hall. Down the table, the rest of the Beauxbaton students were talking seriously amongst themselves.

"I'm going to put my name in." Iida declared to Momo, and she smiled encouragingly as she returned her eyes to him.

"If anyone would be a good representation of the school, it would be you Iida! With your high grades and prefect status you would be great at it!" He blushed at her words of praise, and his hands moved in their odd way as he thanked her.

"Th-thank you Yaoyorozu! Coming from you, whose top grades in our entire year, that is a gigantic complement!"

Momo waved her hand, smiling kindly at him. From the corner of her eye, she saw _him_ , Handsome Durmstrang, walking down the center aisle, soon he would be passing right behind were she was sitting.

"It's not that big of a deal to be top grades, really it's all just reading and remembering. Anyone could do it." Momo said sheepishly, setting her hands down on top of the table delicately lacing them together.

Iida laughed, pushing up his glasses.

"Not a big deal you say! being top grades across all four houses is incredibly impressive! And certainly, not everyone can do it!" He sent a rather disapproving look over his shoulder at Kaminari, who was currently trying to see how many spoons he could balance on his face without them falling off. Looking back at Momo, Iida asked her the question she was expecting.

"What about you Yaoyorozu? Will you be entering the Tournament?"

Momo took a deep breath, her fingers clenching together tighter as she became self-conscious of Handsome slowly starting to walk directly behind her. Great, he'll hear her answer to.

"No. I'm not going to." Momo said simply, not bringing her eyes up from her fingers. "I don't think I'd be good at it, so I just won't enter. Leaves more chance for other, more deserving people to get chosen to represent Hogwarts."

A loud gasp made Momo jump and look up. Kaminari kneeled on the seat next to Iida while Mina hopped over the table to sit next to her, flashing a rather wide smile at Handsome as she did so.

"What do you mean you're not entering?! With all the stuff you know you'd be like, one of the best choices for Hogwarts!" Kaminari exclaimed loudly. Mina nodded in agreement.

"Exactly! If one of the tasks has anything that requires smarts, you'd be perfect at completing them!"

Momo bit her lip.

"I don't know guys, thank you for the kind encouraging words, but I just don't think I will be a good champion." Momo stated, opening the book bag on her lap and checking to make sure she had all the books for the day. "I simply don't see myself being good at it."

"It's your choice of course Yaoyorozu, but I have to agree with Kaminari and Ashido. Your intelligence would be excellent for any of the tasks and preparing for them."

Momo blushed at all their kind words, it was embarrassing to have people say what they thought were your strong points so loudly.

Looking up, Momo saw the red robes of Durmstrang leave through a door out of the corner of her eye.

"Thanks guys, your words really do mean a lot! But, I still don't think I'm going to enter. I feel like I'll be much more useful on the sidelines then actually in the action."

Mina sighed dramatically.

"If you say so Yaomomo! Less competition for me I guess." Momo looked back down at her bag as Iida spoke.

"So, you're going to put your name in?" Mina nodded, grabbing an apple off a fruit bowl and taking a bite.

"Sho iz Kamenaree and Shero." Swallowing, Mina continued. "And Shouji as well. And from the looks of it Eijirou, Ojiro, and Tsuyu are going to too!"

Momo only vaguely heard this, she was frowning while shuffling books and reading and rereading covers.

"I forgot my potions book." Momo said, her voice offended at her own forgetfulness.

"So? You can borrow mine during class if you'd like, we sit together anyway so it's not that big of a deal." Mina said, taking another bite of apple.

Momo shook her head. "Thank you for the offer Mina, but it has my parchment with Hospital Wing hours tucked in it somewhere and I need that today." Standing up, Momo slid her bag onto her shoulder.

"Ah, that does start this week, doesn't it?" Iida asked, and Momo nodded. Kaminari yawned, asking as he did so,

"So like, what starts this week?"

"My apprenticeship with Madame Recovery. Since I'm considering being a healer, she's letting me be her apprentice for a year to help decide if it's really the career I want." Kaminari nodded, but he still looked confused, so Momo elaborated. "I will help Madame Recovery with things like making simple potions, but mostly I will help whoever's in there as a patient be comfortable. So, for example, if Kyouka had to stay overnight yesterday because of her cold, I would have brought her a book to read, or sit and talk to her for a while to make the waiting around less boring. I'm allowed to visit the kitchens-" Kaminari's eyes lit up like a firework, so Momo quickly added, "-but only for things Madame Recovery approves me getting for patients." Kaminari slumped against the table dejectedly.

"Ah phooey, I was hoping you'd get unlimited visits." Momo rolled her eyes and stepped over the bench, straightening her gray skirt as she did so.

"Even if I could get "unlimited visits", I wouldn't use it to get you food. That would be abusing the power given to me, which would make me ineligible to hold it."

Kaminari stuck out his tongue at her, and she waved at all of them as she walked away.

"I'll see you all in potions." She called, and she heard their acknowledgments behind her.

She sped past the Slytherin table when she saw a certain purple haired… person, leering at her and opening his mouth as if he wanted to talk to her.

Reaching the door outside in record time, Momo pushed it open and walked into the Entrance Hall. To her surprise, Handsome Durmstrang was standing in the open doorway, listening with a scowl to Professor Endeavor murmur urgently to him. Not wanting to disturb them, Momo quietly walked towards the staircase and up it, waiting patiently at the top for it to start moving and take her to the upper floors.

While she waited, Momo thought she felt eyes on her. As the staircase started moving, her heart leapt as she looked over her shoulder to identify the eyes, and her eye meet Handsome's gorgeous ones that were both peering at her from around his father as she was lifted out of sight.

Her heart didn't stop pounding till she was safely in her room, and, with potion book in hand, she collapsed onto her bed and covered her face with the book, her long haired cat Tomohiro jumping from his perch on the windowsill to climb on top of her.

Momo accompanied everyone else when they went to put their names in.

Just like Professor Nezu had said, the Goblet of Fire was placed in the middle of the Entrance Hall surrounded by complex runes. It was lunch time, and a lot of people were hanging around the goblet with interest, wanting to see who puts their names in.

Momo watched from the sidelines as Bakugou, Ochako, Kirishima, Mina, Tsuyu, Ojiro, Kaminari, Sero, Shouji, Sato, Jirou, and Tokoyami all stepped forward one by one and put in their names. The little pieces of parchment became enveloped by the flames in an instant, disappearing into the fiery depths of the Goblet.

To Momo's surprise, Midoriya joined her and Kouda on the sidelines, his eyes downcast to the floor, humiliation pooling in them till they threatened to run down his cheeks. Momo discreetly transfigured a bookmark into a handkerchief inside her bag, before pulling it out and nudging Midoriya to take it. He took it with a watery smile, and he turned away from everyone to dry at his eyes.

Momo gave him some privacy as she looked around the room, fifth years and below where all hovering about, inquiring of older students about just what the Goblet was. Many made their way over to Momo when they saw her, as she had established herself among them as someone they could talk to and ask questions. Ochako claimed Momo had a motherly quality about her that made homesick first years latch onto her and work worn fifth years ask for homework help. Momo was rather proud of herself for being seen as such a helpful figure.

She explained what was going on simply, and then they found their way back to their friends to spread the news of the Goblet.

Tokoyami was the last of their friends to put his name in, and as he slipped his parchment into the fire, a whispered message filled with giggling made its way from the entrance door to the Great Hall.

Durmstrang was coming.

Groups of first to third years scampered off to the staircases, half to get out of the way of the intimidating students, and half because they would have a good view to observe _him_ as he placed his name in the fire.

He strode in first, his white hair standing out against the red that made up the rest of his outfit. He wasted no time in dropping his parchment into the fire, and then he didn't even wait for his fellow students to put their names in before he walked into the Great Hall for lunch. Momo's attention had all been on him, so when a girl's voice spoke out from between Momo and Midoriya, it gave Momo quite a startle.

"Have you put your name in yet?"

Turning, Midoriya stared at the tall girl standing behind them slightly, he had to turn completely away from the Goblet to face her, and he gave her an unsure smile.

"I-I'm sorry, are you talking to me?" He asked, pointing at himself. The girl nodded, smiling weirdly at him.

"Yes. I asked if you are putting your name in." She repeated herself, her eyes never leaving Midoriya. He scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, his voice quiet as he informed her that no, he wasn't going to put his name in.

The girl's eyes widened, and she took a half step towards him. Her uniform was from Beauxbaton, but Momo couldn't remember seeing her before. Though, she must have, this girl couldn't have just appeared out of nowhere.

"Why not? Why aren't you entering? From what I've heard people think you'll be really good at it." Midoriya shifted uncomfortably under her intense stare.

"O-oh, well… I guess I just don't think I'm good enough for the competition. And they say nobody knows your worth more than you so… I just think it's the right thing to not enter."

The girls frown deepened, but before she could say anything else, the orange side pony girl from Beuxbaton called out to her.

"Camie we are leaving, come on!"

She turned towards the voice and her brow furrowed in anger, but it didn't show as she turned to Midoriya and gave him a smile.

"Well, it's a real shame you aren't entering, I know a couple people who'd like to see you win!" And then she skipped away. Momo and Midoriya both stared after her, before turning and looking at each other in confusion.

"That… that happened for you too, right?'' Midoriya asked. Momo nodded. "Oh, ok. Just wanted to make sure my sleep schedule wasn't catching up to me." Midoriya said dazedly. And then he and Momo went into the Great Hall for lunch with everyone else.

The next day flew by, and at four o'clock sharp, the Goblet had disappeared in a cloud of smoke. And when they walked into the great hall for dinner, it was standing on a pedestal in front of the High Table.

The air all throughout dinner was brimming with excitement. Iida was incredibly nervous, his fork shaking with every bite he brought to his mouth.

Momo felt bad for him, but wasn't sure how to comfort him, and decided silence was the best option.

Dinner passed in a blur, and finally an hour later, Professor Nezu stood up and waved his wand so the goblet floated to him.

"This, is the moment you've all been long waiting for I'm sure. The moment, where the champions for the schools are chosen by our impartial Goblet of Fire." His face grinned, and he rubbed his hands together good naturedly. "I won't keep you waiting any longer, let's begin, shall we? Future champions, when your name is chosen please come up the front where you and your headmaster will go into a room to await the others to be chosen." The headmasters got up then, moving to stand to the front of the High Table. Madame Uwabami gave everyone a pleasant smile, while Professor Endeavor had his face set in a heavy frown.

Professor Nezu then pulled out his wand again, and tapped the lip of the Goblet with it, and its orange flames shifted blue and it danced crazily as if a strong wind was daring to blow it out. It then went in on itself, like a volcano about to erupt in those muggle shows Ochako showed Momo one summer where everything was exaggerated.

The flames then sprang up high, flooding the great hall with purple and blue light, a single parchment shooting out of the top and drifting down into Nezu's hand.

He read it aloud, he's voice ringing through the silent hall.

"The Beauxbaton champion selected by the Goblet is: one Neito Monoma!" The hall applauded, though Momo had to admit that she clapped a little less enthusiastic when the blonde Beauxbaton who had called Hogwarts lousy the day before stood up. He moved up to join Madame Uwabami, and she draped her arm over his shoulder and directed him to a side room behind the High Table.

After the door closed behind them, Professor Nezu tapped the Goblet, and the flames turned blue, and the process of choosing started again.

Nezu caught the floating piece of parchment deftly, and with a dramatic essence to his voice, he read the next name.

"The Durmstrang champion is…" he paused, and there was a wave of movement as the hall turned to look towards the Slytherin table where everyone from Durmstrang sat. Momo's eyes immediately was drawn towards a white section of hair amongst a sea of red. "Shouto Todoroki!" Nezu finished, giving a large sweeping gesture towards the Slytherin table, were none other than the handsome boy himself stood up amongst the applause. The applause got louder when people saw it was him. As Momo applauded, she relished in the fact that she had his name now and could finally stop calling him Handsome Durmstrang as an identification.

Todoroki strode forward with a neutral expression, his face not showing any hint of excitement or enthusiasm as he walked past Endeavor, who grinned smugly and clapped Todoroki on the back as he followed him to the back room.

Momo's eyes lingered on the doorway for a moment as the flames in the Goblet shifted from orange to blue, her heart beating in a weird way that Momo couldn't identify in Todoroki's absences.

She refocused her attention to the Goblet with a mental shake, she had no reason to feel so attached to him, she had only just learned his name after all and the most connection she had with him was the eye contact they had shared a couple times, which he could do with anyone. It simply wasn't logical to be drawn to him so much, handsome or not she couldn't let it make her lose her focus.

The parchment shot out, and tension filled the hall.

This was it. That paper held the name of the Hogwarts champion. Whoever it was, was going to represent Hogwarts and carry them to potential victory the entire Tournament. It had to be someone able to carry the whole school on their own, and be able to face whatever tasks lay ahead with a calm mind and quick thinking.

Next to her, Iida's fists were clenched tightly on the table, and he was shaking slightly, his eyes glued to the parchment in Professor Nezu's hand. Everyone Momo knew looked tense. Ochako especially, she had her hands clasped together and pressed to her forehead, while her eyes were closed tightly.

Bakugou was straddling the bench with his legs, hands clenched on his knees and a concentrating scowl on his face.

Momo held her breath as Nezu unfolded the parchment slowly, saying as he did so,

"And finally, the Hogwarts champion, the final champion of the night, is…" he flipped the parchment open, "Katsuki Bakugou?!"

Silence followed his words. Iida slumped, his eyes disappearing behind his glasses and his fists clenching atop the table. Momo's mouth fell open, she looked around the room and saw that most people had a similar reaction to her. Then Bakugou screamed in triumph. Slamming his fist on the table as he jumped up, his eyes blazing in victory.

"HELL YEAH!" He jogged up to the High table, where Professor Aizawa got up to accompany him to the back room. Bakugou turned and faced the Great Hall at large with a stomp, his eyes narrowing as they settle into the Beauxbaton's and Durmstrang students.

"You opponent fucks better have had your best chosen, I'd hate to win easily."

Aizawa rolled his eyes, and wrapped his arm around Bakugou's neck and mouth to prevent him from saying anything else. Professor Aizawa knew how to handle Bakugou the best out of the teachers, being his head of house made him and Bakugou interact a lot.

"That's enough of that, come along before you run your mouth to much."

Bakugou grabbed at Aizawa's arm, grunts and muffled swear words pouring out of his mouth as he struggled to no avail at freeing himself, and then Aizawa started dragging him towards the back room. Professor Nezu chuckled as he turned back to face everyone in the Great Hall, and some people laughed along with him. Ochako could be seen giggling from both relief and amusement at the Gryffindor table, her hand grasping Tsuyu's arm in relief.

"Now that all the champions have been chosen-" Professor Nezu started, but stopped as a collective gasp went through the Hall. Momo's hand jumped to cover her mouth in shock, a loud gasp escaping her as the flames in the Goblet turned blue again. Alighting the Great Hall in the unexpected light.

Nezu turned and looked at the Goblet wide eyed, and Bakugou stopped thrashing to stare as Aizawa stopped and turned to look in surprise as well.

Muttering filled the hall, as people started wondering what was happening.

Momo herself leaned over to Iida and asked quietly, her voice filled with shock.

"Wh-what's happening? Everything I've read says the Goblet should turn itself off after choosing the champions, and the three have already been chosen so… what's going on?" Iida shook his head, lost for words and with no answer to Momo's question.

Another gasp went through the crowd, and Momo jumped as, amongst sparks of purple, another parchment shot out of the turning flames.

Professor Nezu barely caught the parchment, and he opened it quickly and stared down at whatever was written with wide eyes. He looked up, and his eyes scanned the Gryffindor table before settling, on Midoriya.

"Izuku Midoriya, please come forward and accompany Professor Aizawa and young Bakugou to the champions room please. I would like to have a word with you in a moment."

Everyone who knew who Midoriya was, whipped round to stare at him with open mouths.

He was stark white, and shaking terribly as he fumbled to stand up, bringing everyone who didn't know who he was attentions to him. Murmurs and whispers echoed around the room as Midoriya scurried to go join Aizawa and Bakugou, who looked as if he was going to explode.

Aizawa shoved the door open and beckoned Midoriya through, which he did with weak knees, and then he let Bakugou go through before going in himself and slamming the door shut.

And the Hall erupted with voices.

Protests came from all sides, accompanied by shouts of questions and demands for answers.

"WHAT WAS THAT ABOUT?!" Shouted Kaminari, raising himself off his seat with contempt on his face.

"WAS DEKU'S NAME ON THE PARCHMENT?!" Ochako asked, standing up anxiously, her hands wringing together.

"PROFESSOR NEZU! I THOUGHT ONLY THREE PEOPLE WERE SUPPOSED TO BE CHOSEN! WHY WAS MIDORIYA CALLED INTO THE ROOM AS WELL?!" Iida shot up, his arms straight in the air and his face scrunched in confusion.

Professor Nezu raised his hands and made a calming motion, his face set in a look of concentration.

"I know you're all confused, I am as well and I assure you, we will find out what's going on and we _will_ tell you when the time is right. I ask of you that, until then, to either wait here or head to your dorms. Thank you." He finished, and then turned and entered the back room.

Izuku Midoriya wrung his hands together and swallowed, as everyone in the room turned to look at him as the door behind Professor Aizawa swung shut.

The room was small, the stone walls felt compact and tiny, made even more so with the plush furniture that was crammed into most of the room.

The headmaster of Durmstrang, Endeavor, stepped forward from the corner of the room where he had been talking with his son, Shouto Todoroki. Endeavor had a frown on his face as he observed the two Hogwarts students. Looking at Aizawa, Endeavors brows furrowed.

"Why are there two of your students here Aizawa?" He asked in his gruff, intimidating voice. Aizawa sighed, and shrugged looking at Izuku pointedly as he spoke.

"I'm not sure myself. After the Goblet chose your son, it then chose Bakugou-" Aizawa clapped Bakugou on the shoulder, and Bakugou instinctively jerked his shoulder away. His hands in his pockets and a death glare on permanent lock on Izuku. "as Hogwarts champion."

Everyone's gaze shifted to Izuku then, and Uwabami spoke up this time.

"Then, if he is the champion for Hogwarts, who is this young man?" She gestured, open palm and elegantly towards Izuku, whose cheeks warmed despite of the situation he was in, he then decided that keeping his eyes on the floor would be the best thing to do at the moment, as everyone's else's eyes bore into him.

Izuku's feet shuffled, and he shrugged. He didn't know why he was in here. Everything that had happened pointed to his name being written on the fourth piece of parchment, but that would be impossible, he hadn't even put his name in.

"We don't know what happened, but the Goblet lit up again and his name came out on a parchment." Professor Nezu walked into the room, answering the question with his eyes also on Izuku, looking him over critically. Endeavor scoffed.

"That couldn't have happened. The Goblet is magicked to know there are only 3 school, and only a powerful confundus charm could have tricked the Goblet."

Professor Nezu nodded at his words, and behind him, Professor All Might squeezed through the door way into the room, nodding as well to what Endeavor said.

"We know that, and I doubt Midoriya could have cast such a powerful charm to trick the Goblet, but just to be sure…" Nezu turned and looked at Aizawa. "As potions master, I assume you have veritaserum in your office Aizawa."

Aizawa nodded, and reaching into his robes he pulled out a small vile. "Of course I do."

Uwabami's and All Might's mouth dropped open, and they gapped at the vial filled with liquid. Endeavors eyebrows rose, while Monoma blanched. Bakugou and Izuku both looked at the vial with side eyed suspicion. They both had seen it before, it was Aizawa's favorite persuasion tool to get students to tell the truth without actually giving it to them. It works especially well on firsts years, though the older they got the more convinced they were that it wasn't actually veritaserum, and Uraraka swore she saw him drop some of it in his eyes once.

"Y-you keep veritaserum on you?!" Monoma exclaimed, stepping back a little with a bewildered look on his face. Aizawa looked at the vial in his hand with almost surprise.

"Oh, no. This isn't veritaserum. This is my eye drops."

"Then why did you take it out?" All Might asked, squinting at the vial, while Bakugou was glaring at the vial almost as hard as he had been at Izuku, his mouth forming words that looked like "Fucking knew Uraraka was right."

Aizawa shook the liquid around the vial before tucking it back into his robes. "Habit." Turning, he walked and opened the black door leading out of the room, leaving everyone but his two students and Nezu confused.

Shaking his head, All Might placed his hands on his hips and strode to stand next to Izuku, talking to Nezu as he did so.

"I presume that Aizawa is fetching veritaserum to use on young Midoriya, correct?" All Might asked, and Nezu nodded, facing Izuku with his arms folded casually.

"Correct. If Midoriya didn't put his name in and charm the Goblet himself, then that means someone else did. And you know what that might mean." Nezu looked pointedly at All Might, who nodded grimly. Continuing, Nezu talked directly to Izuku. "So, Midoriya, did you put your name in the Goblet?" He asked, leaning against one of the plush chairs in the room.

Izuku shook his head frantically.

"N-no! I didn't I swear!" Endeavor harrumphed, folding his arms and staring menacingly at Izuku. Shouto Todoroki sat behind him, and he was watching everyone in the room- his father included- with weariness.

"What's the point of asking him now if you're going to veritaserum him?"

Nezu gave Endeavor a side glance.

"To gain a trust level, and to give him a chance to tell the truth freely without the influence of magic."

No one seemed to see a reason to argue against that, so the room fell into silence. Endeavor continued looking menacing, Uwabami was whispering to her champion Monoma who was looking… smugly at Bakugou. The Durmstrang Champion Todoroki was still sitting with his arms folded, he was staring at an empty portrait on the wall, which Izuku could have sworn he heard faint giggling coming from it despite it being empty.

Izuku was trying not to look at Bakugou, who was being uncharacteristically quiet, and that was scaring Izuku more than it would have if Bakugou was screaming and yelling. Taking the chance, Izuku peeked out of the corner of his eye towards Bakugou. He had his hands shoved into his pockets and was glaring at the floor, his mouth set in his permanent scowl. Izuku guessed that he was withholding his anger because of all the teachers present.

Professor Aizawa finally swept in, holding an even smaller vial of veritaserum.

"I've got the veritaserum, just like you asked Nezu. Shall I give it to Midoriya?" Nezu nodded, and Izuku gulped as Aizawa handed him the vial.

"Don't drink all of it, or else you'll be telling anyone who talks to you the truth for an hour. We just need five minutes, so drink a drop."

Nervous, Izuku carefully drank a drop of veritaserum. He waited, expecting the usual strange feelings felt after drinking a potion, but strangely there were none. He anxiously looked at the bottle, fearing it hadn't been veritaserum and was terrified for a moment he had drank Aizawa's eye drops.

"Midoriya, did you put your name in the Goblet of fire?" Nezu asked again, and this time everyone was looking at Midoriya. He fidgeted, but to his shock his mouth opened before he was ready.

"No, I didn't. I didn't even put my name in to be Gryffindor champion because I didn't think me using my magic in front of a large crowd would have been good. Too much attention." Izuku's face was shocked and his eyes wide, one hand flying to his now stopped mouth in utter confusion. His reaction seemed to be enough evidence that the veritaserum was working.

Tapping his chin carefully, Nezu started asking more questions.

"Alright, and why would that be bad to have too much attention?" He already knew the correct answer, but he was interested to see if Midoriya's reasoning lined up with it.

"Because I would have to use my spells in front of everyone, and with so many people there they might notice the oddities in my magic and start investigating into it… which could lead them to my connection with All Might."

Izuku immediately clapped his hands over his mouth, his eyes wide with disbelief that he just said that aloud. He turned quickly to start apologizing to All Might, but All Might put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head, a reassuring smile on his heroic face.

"It's alright Midoriya my boy, we can trust the people in this room I'm sure." He then turned and faced the room, where everyone from a different school was looking confused.

"What connection?!" Endeavor demanded, looking taken aback but still angry. Uwabami nodded, folding her arms and studying Izuku with interest.

"Yes, what connection? I thought you didn't have any children All Might?"

The veritaserum didn't respond since it wasn't asked directly to Izuku, and All Might seemed prepared to answer their questions.

"Well, you are right Madame Uwabami, I do not have any kids. To start at the beginning, Midoriya was born a squib." Izuku ducked his head down, his eyes burning as he felt everyone's gaze burning into the top of his head. He heard Bakugou snort angrily, and he inched further away from his angry classmate out of nerves.

"Or so everyone thought. He didn't show any signs of magic, but it wasn't because of a lack of magic, he actually had an excessive amount that had somehow been blocked." He squeezed Izuku's shoulder comfortingly, and Izuku took a couple steadying deep breaths, preparing to look up again. "I ran into him by complete chance, it was back when I was still an Auror and I had gotten sent out to investigate traces of explosive accidental magic, to make sure the child in question wasn't in harms way."

All Might gestured towards Bakugou, whose lip curled and he glared at the offending hand with venom.

"Young Bakugou here was the source of that magic, he and Midoriya had grown up in the same neighborhood and are something of childhood friends-" Izuku and Bakugou both grimaced at that, it was more like their mothers were friends and they were expected to be as well, so a lot of forced "play dates" happened. "Err, maybe friends isn't the right word, but they knew each other as children. Anyhow, these two had the bad luck of running into newly escaped criminal Stain, and as they were running away from him young Bakugou's magic went wild, sending magic that would make me arrive at the scene. When I got there, Stain had already left, but I did find these two and brought them home. And it was then I heard what had happened. Stain as you might know, uses an unknown curse that cuts off someone's magic and makes it unusable, and since young Bakugou's magic was going crazy, he tried casting it on him. But Midoriya jumped in front of it, as neither boy knew what the spell did and Midoriya jumped to protect Bakugou. The curse shouldn't have even harmed young Midoriya, but it was causing him to feel like he was being shocked, especially in his wand arm.

Seeing that it did have some effect on him, I got his mother's permission to take him to a healer, Hogwarts' own Madame Recovery in fact! She checked him, and that's when we found magic in him. It turns out Stain's curse counteracted the sealing magic and broke it, allowing Midoriya to use magic. Midoriya's situation stuck with me, and I ended up taking him under my wing as an apprentice. Which he still is to this day!"

He paused then, looking around the room, he scratched his chin thoughtfully.

"Err, I think I got carried away."

"A little bit yes, but it was needed." Aizawa answered, "you should finish explaining the main bit now."

All Might clapped his hands together loudly, and rubbed them together.

"Yes! Of course!"

They waited, and after a moment of him not speaking, Izuku peeked up at him. Aizawa sighed and brought a hand to his temples.

"You forgot what the main bit was, didn't you?"

"Err well not ALL of it! I remember now that I need to explain why it could be important to keep Midoriya's Magic hidden until necessary!"

"Yes, that is what we are all waiting for." Endeavor growled, a vein starting to show on his neck. Todoroki glanced at him with a frown, but didn't say anything and quickly looked back at the wall.

All Might laughed boldly, and continued his explanation.

"Yes right! Midoriya's magic is now unique, since It was withheld for so many years, and it has a certain… ah, look to it that makes it stand out. We've been training and have figured out a way to conceal it for a fair amount of time, but extended use or loss of concentration makes it revert to its original look."

Silence followed his explanation, and Midoriya fidgeted with his wand, nervously looking up at All Might. Professor Nezu spoke after a moment.

"Alright good, and now that _that_ explanation is out of the way, we can get back to the current issue of what to do with Midoriya."

Endeavor cast him a confused look, as did Monoma, but Uwabami looked content to listen.

"What do you mean what do we do with him? He can't participate, he got cheated in and so he shouldn't be allowed." Nezu scratched his chin, and looked Midoriya over thoughtfully.

"That is what I first thought to, Endeavor. However, the more I think about it the more I think he should stay in-" he held up a hand, not only to stop Endeavor from speaking, but Midoriya and Bakugou as well. Izuku snapped his mouth shut, surprise coursing through him. Bakugou was starting to show signs of steaming anger again, his fists were clenched even tighter in his pockets and teeth were grinding together as he forced himself to let Nezu finish. "Let me explain my reasoning."

Nezu looked around to make sure everyone was willing to listen, and then he started.

"As we've already established, Midoriya's name was put in the Goblet against his will. Now, we could excuse Midoriya and give a public announcement shaming or telling off the person who did it, but that will only work if the culprit is a student… On the opposite hand, we have evidence, that we cannot disclose right now without proper permission from active Aurors, that someone infiltrating put in Midoriya's name. These people are professionals, and if they went through all this effort to get Midoriya into the Tournament, then maybe we shouldn't let their effort go to waste. We keep Midoriya in, we could flush the culprits out."

The room was silent, and it was broken by Uwabami's elegant voice.

"Wait a minute, if you do that what will happen to the one officially drawn for your school?"

Nezu turned and gave Bakugou a reassuring smile.

"He'd stay in, we'll just have two champions for Hogwarts!"

Bakugou was shaking with pent up rage, and Endeavor looked just as upset.

"Now hold on a moment-"

"Before you say it's cheating, I will remind you all that the people we have reason to believe put Midoriya's name in, are a danger to the students. And unless we find them and arrest them, we can't be assured of our students safety. If it will reassure you, I will make sure they do not work together nor cheat to win any of the Tasks."

Endeavor was furious, but he seemed at a loss for words, his mouth was moving but nothing was coming out. Saying that students would be in danger unless Midoriya was able to draw out the culprits, was a pretty solid argument.

"Oh!" Nezu exclaimed, realizing something. He turned and looked at Izuku again, crossing his legs pleasantly as he did so. "I forgot! I'm acting as if you've already agreed to participate, so Midoriya would you like to-"

"I'll participate." Midoriya said immediately, conviction in his eyes, Nezu's words that students would be in danger motivated Izuku just as it did the headmasters. His jaw was set and his hands clenched confidently. "I'll do it to make sure the others are safe."

Nezu smiled at him, and then looked around the room at all the headmasters.

"Are you alright with letting Midoriya participate?"

The headmasters nodded, Uwabami with a thoughtful expression and Endeavor with clenched teeth. Nezu clapped his hands together.

"Good! Alright then, now that that's settled we can all leave-

"LIKE HELL ITS ALL SETTLED!" Bakugou finally exploded. "ARE YOU TELLING ME I HAVE TO FUCKING BE SMASHED TOGETHER WITH FUCKING DEKU FOR HOGWARTS SHITTING CHAMPION?!" Nezu nodded, raising a hand to try and calm him down.

"Yes, you will have to share the title- but that's all it is, a blank title. It won't mean anything once you're actually in the tasks, don't worry."

"WORRY? IM NOT FUCKING WORRIED IM FURIOUS! I GOT TO BE HOGWARTS CHAMPION FAIR AND FUCKING SQAURE! IT CAN'T JUST BE HANDED TO FUCKING DEKU FOR CHEATING! WHO GIVES A DAMN WHETHER HE DIDN'T WANT TO BECOME A CHAMPION, THAT'S JUST EVEN MORE DAMN REASON FOR WHY HE FUCKING SHOULDN'T BE ONE!"

"Now now Bakugou, I understand why you are upset, but please understand that if students weren't in danger, then we wouldn't allow Midoriya to participate. However as of now this is what we have to do to ensure more people's safety. This isn't about being Hogwarts champion, this is about helping people."

Bakugou seemed to just get more angry at Nezu's words, his face was red and his hair seemed to be getting more spiky, veins were popping in his neck and forehead. And the suddenly, he seemed to calm down, he's breathing was still laboring and heavy, but he wasn't shaking anymore and his face was slowly going back to normal color.

"Thank-" professor Nezu started to thank Bakugou, but was interrupted by Bakugou letting out a laugh. It wasn't a happy laugh, no it was a laugh that felt as if it turned the room cold. Turning, Bakugou sent a look so chilling it would have made younger Midoriya freeze with fear. Instead of freezing, Izuku wrapped his hand tightly around his wand and steeled himself as Bakugou stomped over to him with a wide smirk on his face and a crazed look in his eyes. Placing a hand on Deku's shoulder, Bakugou spoke.

"Fine, we can both be Hogwarts champions Deku, but only so I can _fucking_ murder you in the tasks you cheating fuck." He then let go of Izuku's shoulders, and stomped back over to a seat and threw himself down, Aizawa, standing next to him, let out a long, pained sigh.

"Un, well now that we have that out of the way, I suppose we need to get onto the usual formalities, don't we?" Nezu asked, but Endeavor shook his head and start marching out of the room, Todoroki following shortly after.

"Don't bother. I'll tell Shouto the details myself, I can't stand listening to you Hogwarts people go on and on and justifying things." Endeavor growled, and he smashed the door open, the resounding crash making Izuku jump.

(Momo's Pov)

Almost an hour later, after most of the younger students had been ushered to bed by teachers, did the door finally open. Or rather, it slammed open.

The sudden smashing of the door against the stone wall made most people jump, and Momo almost hit the student next to her with her ponytail as she whipped to look towards the door.

Endeavor strode out, a snarl on his lips.

"Have your second little champion if you'd like! But if I catch even the slightest hint of cheating, then I demand one of your champions forfeits!" He hollered behind him, before stomping out of the room. "Come on Shouto, there's no need to listen to their prattle any longer."

Todoroki followed Endeavor at a slower pace, glancing back over his shoulder at the doorway as Madame Uwabami and Monoma stepped out, her arm placed on Monoma's shoulders as she led him out of the room, her lips pursed.

"I understand why you made your decision and I'll stand behind it Professor Nezu, but I agree with Endeavor. A single drop of cheating and one will have to forfeit."

"Of course, the things we discussed inside will be discarded if one cheats. And don't worry, knowing who these two boys are means there will be no collaboration to work together between them, they will both be acting as if they are representing different school, though still representing the same one. I assure you, no cheating will be happening."

Madame Uwabami nodded, and Nezu gestured behind him for someone to step forward, and Midoriya scampered out, followed by Bakugou who was seething more than a boiling kettle.

He stomped down toward where he left his book bag, Slytherin's badgering him for questions. As he walked past them, Momo and Iida both turned to look at him, and Iida spoke urgently.

"Bakugou, what happened?"

Bakugou, who had just picked up his bookbag by a strap, slammed it back down to his table in rage.

" **Deku fucking cheated his way into the tournament is what happened you nosy fucks! Claims he didn't fucking do it either, the bastard. Probably is just trying to cover his ass so he can leech off me by being this stupid fucking "duo champions of Hogwarts" bullshit!"**

Iida's eyes became hidden behind his glasses, while Momo shook her head in disbelief.

"No, Midoriya wouldn't do that! He genuinely didn't want to enter! I stood next to him while he tried not to cry because he felt to inadequate to compete!" Turning to stare at Iida, who's jaw had become set, Momo continued, her own voice becoming more sure. "There's no way Midoriya did that, someone had to have put his name in against his will!"

Iida, to Momo and Bakugou's surprise, shook his head slowly. "I would normally believe you, but… Hogwarts is impenetrable, it would have had to have been an inside job and I trust all of our professor's more than I trust… well, I trust our teachers." Bakugou, obviously not wanting to be part of the conversation anymore, snarled a few angry words and stomped away, cursing at everyone he came across. The short, rat faced purple haired Slytherin almost got smacked in the face by his wildly swinging book bag.

"All I'm trying to suggest is that we keep our minds open to possibilities, one of which may be that Midoryia cheated his way in."

Momo shook her head. "He was distraught Iida! He had that look on his face were his bottom lip starts trembling but he's refusing to cry even though his eyes are filled with tears."

Iida frowned, sitting back down at the table slowly. "He could have been acting Yaoyorozu. Trying to throw everyone off so he could seem more innocent when his name got pulled." Momo's mouth dropped open, disbelief covering her entire face as she stared at Iida.

"Yo-you don't actually believe Midoriya would do such a thing, do you?!"

Iida looked away.

Momo gasped in horror.

"I can't believe you! You are one of his closest friends, how can you just ignore what you know of your friends to believe what everyone else does just like that?!" she snapped her fingers to emphasize, and Iida flinched a little at the sound. "Just because you trust the teachers doesn't mean someone else from another school or maybe even another student from Hogwarts didn't put his name in! I trust the teachers more than I trust some relatives of mine, but that doesn't immediately dismiss the possibility that someone put Midoriya's name in. It wouldn't be the first time someone's singled out Midoriya because of his-" Momo lowered her voice, "apprenticeship under Professor All Might. Why can this not be one of those times? The frequency of them happening at least once every other year makes it a plausible solution."

"All I'm saying is, currently, it's more likely with the information we have that Midoriya put his name in himself. No other evidence is suggesting that someone put his name in against his will. Midoriya is a smart guy, he could have figured out a way to make the Goblet think he was from a fourth school and put his name in when none of us were looking."

"The other evidence is past occurrences! Those are just as substantial to this situation as everything else you said!"

Iida adjusted his glasses, his mouth in a line.

"Until evidence that connects the past events with this one, I am not going to exclude Midoriya cheating himself in as a possibility. In fact, right now it's the one with the strongest evidence to make it the number one possibility."

Momo made a noise of utter disbelief. She couldn't believe Iida was even considering what he was suggesting. Standing up, Momo slung her bag over her shoulder and set her own face into a neutral expression.

"Well, believe what you will I suppose. I will ask Midoriya about it tomorrow and get his point of view. But for now, I'm going to bed."

And Momo spun on her heels, her ponytail swinging violently behind her as she walked with determination in her step.


	3. Chapter 3

Poor Midoriya was swamped with questions, he looked so defeated and miserable in Charms, that Momo wondered incredulously how people could believe he was that good of an actor!

He was slumped over where he was sitting between Ochako and Momo, idly staring at the parchment in front of him where he was supposed to be taking notes, quill occasionally scratching the parchment to make lines here and there.

Feeling horrible for him, as most of the school seemed to believe that he had cheated his way into being a champion and were treating him rudely, Momo made sure to make even more detailed notes then usual to give him later. The other Gryffindors seemed to be supporting him well, only Ojirou and Tokoyami seemed to be suspicious of him. Neither had outright accused him though, and were mostly just keeping an eye on him.

The rest of the school hadn't been so kind, Slytherin's especially took Bakugou's side of " _Midoriya did it to ride off Bakugou's coat tails_ " and whispered nasty things to him whenever they passed him in the hallways or classes. A full two weeks had almost passed, and the first task was only a week and a half away, the champions from Beuxbaton and Durmstrang appeared to be training hard under their heads watchful eyes to prepare for whatever the task may be.

Momo had seen Shouto Todoroki especially working hard. From her room in Ravenclaw tower, she had a view overlooking the lake and a good vantage point to look down on the Durmstrang ship's deck. She saw him from her dorm room on week days practicing spells from 10 until lunch, where he would come in and sit by himself at the Slytherin table with a book in his hands. He even did this on weekends, and Momo admired how dedicated he was to being a good champion. She rarely saw him talk to anyone during lunch, in fact, Momo wasn't sure if she had seen him talk at all.

As they walked out of Charms, Momo made a copy of her notes with a tap of her wand, then handed them to Midoriya. He took them with a forced smile and a tiny "thank you".

As the Ravenclaws and Gryffindors started splitting up to go separate ways, they were halted by a loud shout of:

"MIDORIYA MY BOY!"

Momo, who had taken only a couple steps away from Midoriya, turned and watched as Professor All Might, their defense against the Dark Arts teacher, strode towards Midoriya and clapped him on the shoulder, making Midoriya's knees buckle.

"I'm glad I caught you before your next class my boy! I have an urgent matter to discuss with you, so would you please come to my office after dinner?" Midoriya nodded, a smile forcing its way onto his face.

"O-of course, I'll stop by."

As All Might gave Midoriya a thumbs up, Momo turned back and continued walking, recognizing that it wasn't her conversation to listen to. Ahead of her, Iida frowned and turned away as well, muttering something under his breath. Momo frowned at his back, he was still stubbornly believing that Midoriya put his name in the Goblet himself, despite how miserable having his name drawn had made him.

Speeding up to walk past him, Momo headed to the Hospital Wing, where Kaminari and Sero had informed her in Potions, that Mina had been admitted that morning. They didn't tell her the details, but judging by their hysterical laughter while trying to whisper what happened in Momo's ear, she supposed it wasn't from an illness but something that Mina had done.

Sure enough, as Momo walked through the double doors into the pristine granite room, Mina was propped up on a bed, chewing gum and reading The Witch Weekly with mild interest. Seeing Momo enter, Mina lifted up her hand and waved exuberantly, an ear-splitting grin on her face.

"Yo Yaomomo! You were told I was in here huh?" Mina didn't sound to hurt, and as she cast a chair over to sit down, Momo looked over her critically. A sliver of white could be seen behind Mina's curly bangs, and as she wiggled in bed to sit up straighter they shifted enough that Momo was able to see the bandage patch on her forehead.

"Yes, Kaminari and Sero told me- Mina what happened? How did you get that wound on your head?" Momo asked, smoothing her skirt as she sat down out of habit. Worry written on her face.

Mina's face turned sheepish, and red tinted her cheeks as she scratched her head in embarrassment.

"They weren't able to tell you that part huh?" Mina chuckled, "to busy laughing probably, right?" Momo nodded, a relieved smile on her lips as it was evident know that whatever happened hadn't left Mina too injured.

"They were rather amused, I barely understood through their laughter when they tried telling me you were in here." Momo said, the doors to the Hospital Wing opening behind her and the sound of feet running reached her ears.

"No running in the Hospital Wing!" Momo said instinctively, turning to face their red-faced Gryffindor friends as they sprinted to Mina's bedside. Waving a hand in a dismissive manner towards Momo's words, Jirou said out of breath.

"W-we came as soon as Charms ended!"

Ochako nodded so quickly Momo feared she was going to crick her neck.

"Yes! Kirishima only just told us you were in here- or we would have come sooner!"

Mina beamed at them.

"Aw don't worry about it guys! I'm just glad you guys are visiting me at all!" She happily patted her hands on the bed, and Jirou and Ochako hopped onto the end, while Tsuyu accio-ed a chair to sit opposite of Momo across the bed. As they got comfortable, Ochako pulled a bag of cauldron cakes out of her robes and passed them around to everyone. As Jirou popped hers in her mouth and passed the bag to Momo, she asked the question that they were all wondering.

"So Mina, how did you wind up in here this time?" Mina blushed again, and she twiddled her fingers together with an embarrassed giggle.

"W-well… You know how, um, nice the weather was this morning?" The girls gave her an odd look, while Momo and Ochako nodded slowly. They knew there was more to the story then that. "Ok! So, since it was like, so nice, me, Denki and Eiji decided to stroll around the grounds before classes started. And there we were, having a baller of a time just chatting and chilling, when suddenly ahead of us is a group of Durmstrang students." Mina took a bite of a Cauldron Cake, chewed and swallowed, then continued talking, cheeks still quite red. "And they had formed like a circle around two students and we could tell they were about to start a practice dual." She spun her fingers around to demonstrate the circle, "and Eijirou wanted to stay and watch, but we didn't want to seem like we were spying on them since our schools haven't talked much. So we decided to climb a tree and look like we were just hanging out in a tree." Momo frowned.

"But," Momo interrupted," surely it would be more suspicious if three Hogwarts students were staring at them from high up in a tree then if you were on the ground." Mina waved her hand, her face growing a little smug.

"Oh we did think of that! Which is why we played a quick game of rock, paper, scissors to determine who was going to have to have their back to the dual so it looked like we were just chilling!" Seeing that Momo was about to point out a flaw in that plan, Mina quickly continued. "Anyway! So Denki loses, and has to sit on the branch backwards, since I claimed leaning sideways against the trunk and Eiji got to face forward fully. So, the dual starts, and I quickly realize it's not just two students dueling ONE OF THEM IS THEIR CHAMPION!" Mina pumped her arms excitedly, her eyes gleaming. This interested the other girls, and Ochako quickly asked,

"So you saw the Durmstrang Champion dual? Was he good?" Ochako was leaning forward nervously, and Momo knew she was asking out of concern for both Midoriya and Bakugou. Surprisingly, Mina's eyes turned dreamy, and she slumped against her pillows with a sigh.

"Yeah, he was good. Super dreamy to~" Bringing her hands up to her face, she clutched her cheeks and smiled dreamily. "I didn't know dueling could be so enticing to watch, the way his body moved to dodge spells and the precision that he fired his own spells was really skillful I'm sure… but what was even better was how hot he looked doing it!" Mina giggled, collapsing deeper into the pillows as she closed her eyes to reimagine the scene. Momo sighed alongside the other girls. This was a very Mina thing to do. Though… for once Momo couldn't blame her.

Jirou let Mina giggle for a few seconds more, then she snapped her fingers and got her attention again.

"Yeah yeah the guys handsome, so how does this end with you getting that injury?" Jirou asked, tearing apart a Cauldron Cake and stuffing some of it in her mouth. Mina made a noise of surprise then sat up again, brushing her bangs out of her face as she did so.

"Right, sorry! So, the dual ended. And they started going towards the castle for breakfast, and… truth be told I'm not really sure what happened." Mina admitted, scratching her head. "But I remember getting this crazy intense urge to not look away from their champion. And since they were coming closer it was only a matter of time before he was walking past the tree we were in, and like this thought just won't leave my head right? and I kept leaning further and further sideways to keep him in my sights because I felt like if I didn't something bad was going to happen- then the next thing I knew I was falling!" Mina mimed with her hands herself falling from the tree, and Ochako and Momo gasped, Ochako's hand flying to cover her mouth while Momo's jumped to cover her heart. Mina nodded solemnly. "Yeah, hit my head on the way down and got a nice cut. Eijirou had to carry me here since I wasn't able to walk straight."

"And Madame Recovery said you're going to be alright, didn't she?" Momo inquired, worry written on her face. All her friends seemed to attract danger and injuries like a magnet, Midoriya and Kaminari especially, it was one of the reasons Momo was considering becoming a Healer after graduation.

"Yes yes she'll be alright. Just a small injury she'll be free to go by dinner." Madame Recovery walked over towards them with her hands clasped behind her back, and all the girls turned and started at the short older woman as she came to stand near them. Mina beamed at her and gave everyone two thumbs up. Madame Recovery turned and looked pointedly at Momo.

"And Yaoyorozu, if you have time to be in the Hospital Wing, perhaps you could spare some time to assist me?" Momo leapt to her feet, slinging her school bag onto the chair she had previously been sitting.

"Of course! What do you need me to do?" Momo asked bustling over to Madame Recovery. Behind her, Mina and the rest of the girls continued talking and snacking on Cauldron Cakes. Ochako, checking her watch every few minutes.

Anxiously waiting for something.

It was almost ten o clock that night, and sitting alone by the dimly lit fire in Gryffindor Common Room, was Ochako Uraraka. She was staring anxiously into the smoldering coals, a textbook in her hands but it hadn't been opened in almost an hour, when she realized she couldn't concentrate on anything the page said.

She was waiting up for Izuku, who hadn't yet returned from going to Professor Might's office after dinner, almost two hours ago. Everyone else had went to sleep, Kirishima and Tsuyu being the last ones to head up, they were also worried about Izuku, but tiredness had won over their concern- tiredness and Ochako's pestering that they should go to sleep. Kirishima went to bed first, wanting to head down and meet with his out of house friend group early tomorrow, and Tsuyu went soon after, Ochako practically shoving her drooping head up the spiral staircase to the girls' dormitory. That had been maybe thirty minutes ago, and Ochako was still nervously fidgeting in the chair they had left her in.

When the sounds of the Fat Ladies portrait swinging open reached her ears, Ochako jumped up and spun around to face the doorway, relief flooding through her as Izuku hobbled through the portrait way. He didn't look injured thankfully, but he's face had the look of having been very white and was just having its color return.

Seeing her, Izuku stopped in his tracks, staring at her with his mouth open.

"U-uraraka?! You should be in bed, why are you still up?" Ochako nervously fluttered towards him, a smile making its way onto her face as she stopped in front of him.

"I've been waiting up for you, I wanted to make sure that you were alright, call me silly but something about the way Professor Might asked to talk with you so suddenly made me nervous!"

Izuku blushed. Stammering out a thank you. He turned and started walking, and Ochako shifted uneasily, he still looked rather bothered by something.

"Can… can I ask what Professor Might wanted to talk with you about?" Ochako asked carefully. Izuku, who was walking over to the fireplace, spun his head around so fast Ochako heard it crick. His hand flew up to massage his neck, eyes wide as he stared at her.

"U-um, well!" He stuttered, scratching the back of his head as his eyes fell to the floor. Immediately realizing that it wasn't her place to ask, Ochako threw her hands up in front of her and started waving them frantically.

"Of course, if you can't or don't want to tell me you don't have to! I… was just wondering is all. You looked bothered so I just want to know if I could help!" Getting annoyed by her own hand waving, Ochako shoved her hands behind her back as Izuku gulped. He was mumbling, his eyes moving rabidly as he jumped his gaze around the room. Ochako waited, she knew he would come to a decision soon. After a moment, he stopped mumbling and licked his lips worriedly, his eyes going back to Ochako.

"I… I was told not to tell anyone… But I think I'll burst if I don't tell someone!" He directed her to sit down in a seat, and she did so quickly, sitting on the edge of her seat as he perched on the arm of a chair across from her. His hands were wringing together, and he looked around the room carefully to make sure no one was in there with them. Turning back to Ochako, he took some deep breaths before starting.

"Professor Might took me to see what the first task was." He started, and Ochako gasped so loudly she chocked on spit.

"H-he what?! I thought that wasn't allowed!" Ochako chocked out, coughing to clear her airways. Izuku nodded numbly.

"That's what I thought to, but when we got there the other headmasters were there, and they all but said they were going to tell their champions about the dragons."

Ochako chocked again. This time on nothing, her eyes widened so largely, they reminded Izuku of a cartoon character. Her hands clenched at her skirt tightly till her knuckles were white.

"D-dragons! tHE FIRST TASK INVOLVES DRAGONS!" She whisper hollered, and when Izuku sheepishly nodded she covered her heart with her hands and forced herself to take calming breathes, when really her mind was racing. "How does it involve Dragons?" She asked and Izuku shrugged, looking just as nervous as she was starting to feel.

"I don't know, they didn't say. All I know is it involves dragons. Professor Ryukyu was there to help tame them and everything, she was a dragon keeper before she taught Care of Magical Creatures after all, so I have to believe it's legit." Ochako finally calmed herself down enough to think, and she asked him another question.

"How are you going to plan to fight the dragons, if that's what you have to do?"

Izuku pulled out one of his notebooks and started scribbling, and then he held it up to show Ochako.

"Well, since I don't know exactly what the task entails, I won't be able to make any solid plan against a specific one or tailored to complete the task. But I can research the dragons and look up their weaknesses and strong points. I'm certain the Beauxbaton and Durmstrang champion will do something similar, that way we are all prepared at least a little towards defending ourselves against the dragons." Written on the pages were the quickly scribbled names of the four breeds of Dragon that were brought: Norwegian Ridgeback, Hungarian Horntail, Common Welsh Green, and Swedish Short Snout. Izuku stretched, and he got up, and started scribbling in the book again. Ochako stood as well, a frown forming on her face as Izuku started talking again. "Oh! You can't tell anyone about the dragons, ok!" His face grew concerned again. "Really, I wasn't even supposed to tell you, but my head feels a lot clearer after telling someone about the dragons, but I don't want you in trouble so please don't tell anyone!"

Ochako held up her hands and put on a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry Deku! I'll keep the dragons a secret!" He beamed at her, and he started making his way towards the boys Dormitories.

"It's late so you should go to sleep, I'm going to try as well so first thing in the morning I can head to the library and start researching." Ochako nodded and started heading to bed herself, but stopped as she reached the girl dormitories door. Looking back, she stopped Izuku as he was about to walk onto the staircase.

"Wait Deku!" He stopped, lowered his notebook, and looked over at her. "When you mentioned the other champions, you only talked about the ones for the other schools… and I was just wondering if you knew…" Her eyes flicked down and back up. "well, more like I was wondering if Bakugou knows about the dragons."

Surprise took over in Izuku's eyes, and Ochako could tell he was thinking over what he had seen and if there had been any signs Kacchan was going to find out. He looked up at her, and her heart stuttered in panic as he shook his head.

"I don't think Kacchan knows, no one around even mentioned him, and... I don't think people are exactly wanting to help him."

The time was almost here, the first task was a week from Wednesday, and Deku was cramming every minute with learning more about dragons and trying to come up with strategies to beat them. Even during classes, while the professor taught Deku would be scribbling furiously in his notebook, not taking notes, but describing all the weak points of a Norwegian Ridgeback in thorough detail and possible ways to counteract one. He still didn't know exactly what he would have to do when confronted with the dragon, but he figured knowing more would be better than not knowing at all.

Ochako watched worriedly over his shoulder, biting her cheek in concern as he filled three pages full of information in the hour of charms, not taking in a word of the lesson Professor Pixie-Bob was presenting them.

Luckily, Yaomomo was always willing to let people borrow her notes, and she was super nice about helping if needed too, so Ochako wasn't too worried about Deku falling behind everyone else.

No, what she was worried about was the first task. After finding out that the first task was Dragons, Ochako had never been more relieved that she hadn't been chosen for champion, but also terrified for Deku and Bakugou. Dragons were… well, DRAGONS! Gigantic, fire breathing, could-kill-you-with-a-flick-of-their-tail, Lizards! Even muggles knew how dangerous dragons were! Being a muggle born, Ochako had been told many stories about dragons as a child, most involved them viciously kidnapping princesses and fighting knights. Not exactly comforting stories that eased her mind about her best friends fighting dragons.

Ochako was trying not to let her own fears show though, Deku was scared enough that he didn't need her contributing to the long list as well.

She couldn't help it really, Deku had told her so much about dragons in the past week, that they were popping up in Ochako's dreams.

Just the night before, Ochako had dreamed that she was a princess being held captive by a dragon, and Deku was her childhood friend fighting to rescue her. Bakugou then came out of nowhere and fell on the back of the dragon and attempted to tame it in a way that reminded Ochako of cowboys riding a bull or wild horse during a rodeo.

Bakugou succeeded in taming the dragon and was offering Ochako a ride on its back. With her leaning out of the high tower window, and him riding bare chested on the back of the dragon with his hand outstretched reminded Ochako of Aladdin, right before they sang a whole new world. She woke up before she could ride on the dragon sadly, but she couldn't get the hilarious image of Bakugou hassling a dragon out of her mind. When she had seen him during breakfast, she had snorted so loudly that he had noticed. He sneered at her and stuck out his tongue, and Ochako had wiggled her fingers in return, still giggling.

Seeing him reminded her of the reason she had the barebacked dragon dream in the first place, and she quickly went back to worrying instead of laughing.

As they walked out of charms and onwards to lunch, Ochako and Tsuyu walking next to Izuku as he meandered around the halls with his nose buried in his book, the girls taking turns to grab him out of the way of walking students, Ochako couldn't help but overhear Yaomomo and Kirishima talking.

"Kirishima, may I ask how Bakugou is fairing in preparing for the first task?" Yaomomo asked, her voice as polite as ever. Ochako's ears immediately pricked at the question she herself had been worrying about for the past week. Kirishima shrugged.

"I think he's doing alright. I spare with him here and there to practice spells, but as he doesn't know what to expect he hasn't really been able to prepare a ton." Stretching his arms above his head and yawning, Kirishima asked Yaomomo a question as well. "So, how's the Durmstrang champion looking?" To Ochako and Kirishima's surprise, Yaomomo blushed slightly, and she looked slightly taken aback.

"What do you mean? His looks are the same as ever. Besides, why would I notice if he's looks changed-" Yaomomo stopped, then let out a small embarrassed laugh. "Oh, you meant "how's he looking" in regard to how well he is seemingly preparing for the task, don't you?" Kirishima nodded, a grin cracking onto his face.

"Yeah, I meant it that way, you might be observant but I don't expect you to keep track of how he looks!" Kirishima laughed, and Yaomomo let out a chuckle of her own, her cheeks still pink. "I asked because you can see where they practice really well from your dorm room- at least that's what I've heard- so I was just curious to if you've seen the dude training or practicing spells."

Yaomomo nodded, her black ponytail swinging.

"Yes, he practices quite diligently. He even works on weekends. And, sometimes when I'm in the library studying he comes in and checks out books, and later I see him reading them on the deck of their ship or under a tree, and I believe that he's reading up on in preparation for the task. In fact, seeing him working so hard is what made me inquire about Bakugou and how he is fairing." Yaomomo stated, they were nearing the Great Hall and Ochako could see the yellow and green vests of their friends coming from opposite them across the Entrance Hall. As they waited on the stairwell, Ochako giggled a little as what Yaomomo said fully registered, and she half turned and joined the conversation with an amused smile on her face.

"I'm sorry to jump in, but you certainly see him a lot, don't you?" Yaomomo blushed as it dawned on her what she just said implied, and she quickly spoke to explain herself.

"The Durmstrang ship and a good part of the grounds are part of my dorms view, and when I go to pick up Tomohiro off the windowsill I look out and see him, that's all! I never stare, just take notice!" Yaomomo exclaimed a little defensively, and Ochako giggled, turning to look backwards at them as the staircase started moving to bring them to the ground. Kirishima was hiding a smile behind a hand.

"I trust you don't stare Yaomomo don't worry! I'm just teasing hehe!" Ochako stuck her tongue out in a joking manner at Yaomomo, who relaxed and gave her own smile back.

"Back to the earlier conversation, before we discovered Yaomomo's window staring hobby- You said he borrowed books, did you happen to see what type of books they were?" Kirishima asked, playfully nudging Yaomomo in the arm as he joked about her "hobby". Yaomomo delicately placed her hand on her chin, pointer finger tapping her nose as she thought back.

"I… think I do actually! I was right behind him with my own books, and I saw that his entire stack was books about dangerous magical creatures, and one was about spells that penetrate indestructible scales and hides." Normally Momo would be able to remember the titles of the books, but she had gotten a little distracted, as when he turned around with his books he had almost bumped into her, and they had made eye contact again and muttered apologies. So Momo didn't remember too much of what happened besides his piercing eyes and the silly excitement that she finally heard his voice.

Ochako's face faltered, and behind her Izuku yelped as Tsuyu pulled him roughly out of the way of a group of giggling fourth years as they barged past them with no remorse. Ochako didn't even notice as they pushed past her as well, only noticing them when Yaomomo stopped them and reminded them to not run on the staircases during eating hours.

Ochako followed everyone into the Great Hall, biting her cheek as she watched Kirishima ditch them to run and join Bakugou at the Slytherin table, Bakugou sneering at him but making no other moves to discourage him from sitting down.

From the sound of it, Izuku had been right, all the champions but Bakugou knew about the dragons. And Ochako was torn.

She _knew_ that out of everyone, Bakugou was the most likely to face a dragon and win. he's studied dragons more than probably everyone in their entire year- maybe even the entire school- and with his memory he could come up with a reasonable plan on the spot during the first task. But… it didn't stop her from worry about other things… like how Bakugou and Deku would be in the same room for who knows how long during the first task, and she was worried what would happen without the usual mediators there to stop the fighting. And just the event of friends facing against giant scaly creatures that breathed fire was quite a sufficient fear in of itself.

She hardly paid attention to the conversation everyone was having, and when she saw Bakugou getting up irritably from the table with Kirishima thirty minutes later she couldn't stop herself from excusing from the table and following after them. They had already made it across the Entrance Hall and were walking down the stairs when she reached the door, Kirishima chatting about something while Bakugou wasn't saying anything and just had his hands in his pockets.

Her vision zeroed in on him, his spiky blonde hair descending out of view. Her footsteps hit the stone floor loudly in the empty Hall as she sprinted towards the stairs. Taking the steps two at a time, Ochako reached the bottom and turned onto the hallway, mouth opened prepared to call out to him to wait- when she smacked face first into his back.

Bouncing back, Ochako's hand flew up to grab her smarting nose, which had taken the brunt of the force in the collision against Bakugou's muscled back, eyes reflexively watering. Bakugou made a loud oomph of surprise when she crashed into him, and then he swirled around like a storm cloud, a curse already falling out of his lips to throw at whoever had hit him. His eyes landed on Ochako's crying form, and the words half died, and instead he stared at her in surprise, not sure why she was crying. He quickly recovered, and he grumpily harrumphed at her.

"Uraraka, watch where you're fucking going next time damn it! Dry your eyes before you run and maybe you'll be able to actually fucking see!" Ochako, still holding her nose, looked at him weirdly, tears still going down her face. She had no idea why he was telling her to dry her eyes, they had only JUST started crying after all! As she looked at him, she noticed the tiniest hint of concern in his eyes, and then the realization that he thought she had been crying before running into him hit her. His concealed concern behind harsh words was rather sweet Ochako thought, telling her to not run with blurry teared filled eyes since it was dangerous, was the nicest thing he'd said to her this term! Flashing a smile at him, Ochako lowered her hands and laughed.

"Aww thanks for the concern Kacchan! But my eyes were only watering cause I hit my nose on your back is all, it's very nice of you to worry though~!" She giggled again as she wiped her eyes, and she could tell Bakugou was embarrassed. And that was because his voice got louder and his cursing got more vulgar.

"THEN YOU MUST NEED FUCKING GLASSES, IF YOU CAN'T SEE SO WELL THAT YOU'RE FUCKING RUNNING INTO PEOPLE! DAMN IT I WASN'T CONCERNED EITHER YOU ASS! IM JUST SO DAMN ANNOYED AT YOUR CONTINUAL HABIT OF FUCKING RUNNING INTO ME!" He shouted, his head tilted to the side and a sneer on his face. Ochako noticed with amusement that his cheeks had the tiniest hint of red to them. "AND DON'T FUCKING CALL ME KACCHAN DAMN IT! IT'S BAD ENOUGH FUCKING DEKU CALLS ME IT I DON'T NEED YOU DOING IT TO ROUND FACE!"

Ochako smiled brightly at him, putting her hands behind her back and rocking a little on her feet, her voice teasing when she spoke.

"Awww but I like calling you Kacchan! It's cute! Just like the nickname Deku can be cute!" Bakugou bristled, "Come one Bakugou! I've been your friend for almost five years in November, can't I call you Kacchan?!" Ochako asked sweetly, but Bakugou shook his head firmly.

"Fuck no. Never in a million fucking years, I hate that shitty cutesy bullshit nickname. No one can call me that no matter how long they've fucking known me."

"Oh alright! If you don't want me to call Kacchan than I'll just call you Bakugou…" Ochako sighed, "Everyone else does so I might as well stay among the masses…"

Bakugou rolled his eyes, and almost without thinking he started saying "You don't fucking have to call me Bakugou, you can call me-" Bakugou froze. His mouth open and he was staring at Ochako as they both processed what he just said. Ochako had never seen Bakugou clamp his mouth down so hard. Her eyes widened, as did his. He was clearly biting his tongue, and his fists were shaking he was so angry with himself. Ochako however, was feeling shaky for a completely different reason. A bright, beaming smile slowly emerged onto her face, and she stepped forward eagerly, and Bakugou stepped back, a hand flying up to cover his mouth.

"Where you going to say what I think you were?!" Ochako asked, and Bakugou shook his head vehemently, under his hands Ochako saw a growing color, which meant he had. She squealed, jumping up and down while he continued to shake his head. "YOU DID! You were going to say I could call you Katsuki!" He shook his head even harder, and his face was almost completely red from both anger and embarrassment.

"I NEVER FUCKING CONFIRMED SHIT DON'T GO FUCKING PUTTING WORDS IN MY FUCKING MOUTH!" Bakugou shouted, though his voice was muffled behind his hands. Ochako stopped jumping up and down, but she was still beaming at him, her insides bubbling with happiness and excitement.

"Can I really call you Katsuki?! If I can you can call me Ochako!" Bakugou turned away from her, his cheeks red from embarrassment and he was glad he'd left lunch so early that no one was roaming the halls, and that Kirishima had gone to the bathroom so he wasn't here to witness this.

"Y-yeah sure whatever. If it will shut you up about it then fucking call me Katsuki." Bakugou grumbled, stuffing his hands into his robes he started stomping away. "As long as you never call be fucking Kacchan I don't give a shit."

Ochako couldn't describe just how happy him saying that made her. She clapped her hands and kicked her legs behind her a little, trying to contain her swelling joy but some escaped as she giggled. It finally felt like they were progressing somewhere in their friendship!

Realizing he was walking away, Ochako jumped a little and started running after him, footsteps and voice echoing in the large hallway.

"Bak- Katsuki waIT!" Ochako called out to him, running to catch up to his halted figure. She felt a little bit of pride saying his first name, being one of the only people allowed to call him Katsuki made her feel special. Bakugou forcibly scowled at her.

"What now Uraraka."

"Ochako!" she reminded him cheerfully, coming to a stop next to him. "And I was just wanting to ask you how your prep for the First Task is going!" The bell rang far above them, signaling the end of lunch. Almost immediately, they heard a downfall of feet start walking in the Entrance Hall above them. Bakugou gave a real scowl to the ceiling, and then he turned and shoved his head roughly in the direction of their next class as he started walking.

"Come on, I'll tell you the shit I've been doing." Bakugou told her, and Ochako jogged briefly to catch up with him, as he started telling her the precautions he's taken despite not knowing what the task will be.

Kirishima caught up with them, and they all walked to class together, chatting along while Ochako tried dropping hints about the dragons.

Ochako missed the two thumbs up and grin Kirishima gave Bakugou over her head, just like Bakugou missed all her hints.


	4. Chapter 4

The day of the first task was finally here.

White clouds were drifting peacefully above the students in the Great Hall, the enchanted ceiling giving everyone a good view of how clear the day was.

The chatter was brimming with sparks of excitement and anticipation, and Izuku could barely hold his spoon as he tried to force himself to eat a small bowl of soup at lunch. The first task was set to happen right after, and his nerves were finally starting to take over him the closer the inevitable got. He knew he chose this, and that if he really wanted to he _could_ probably get out of facing the dragon and just wave it all good bye and join his friends in the stands and watch Bakugou be the lone Hogwarts champion- but he knew he couldn't do that. The reason he chose to still be a champion was too important to just chicken out at the first task.

Maybe if he was lucky, the person who put his name in will reveal themselves somehow and he'd get a free pass to leave!

…but that was so unlikely it wasn't even an option.

The others tried to cheer him up, Uraraka and Kirishima both gave some good pep talks before going to talk to Bakugou, and Tsuyu and Yaoyorozu helped him run over spells before Yaoyorozu had to help Madame Recovery in the Hospital Wing, and Sero and Mina shouted some inspiration quotes at him and Bakugou while Kaminari was face planted in his plate, fast asleep and snoring loudly.

Looking around the room, he was glad to see at least one other champion was as nervous as he was.

Beauxbaton was trying to act all tough and smug, but was jittering everything he held with how shaky his hands were. His fellow schoolmates were gathered round him and cheering him on, a large guy who reminded Izuku of Kirishima thumped him on the back multiple times, obviously trying to pump him up for the task.

The strange girl who had asked him if he was putting his name in- Izuku is pretty sure they called her Camie- seemed to be cheerfully eating slightly away from the others, and she kept staring at Izuku between bites and it was making him extremely uncomfortable.

Turning away from her, he looked at the Slytherin table to see the other champions. He could barely make out Todoroki, who as usual, wasn't showing any strong signs of stress, but he was pouring over a book and with knitted brows. There was a gaggle of girls hovering near the wall behind him, whispering to each other and giggling at his back. Girls often did that around him, just congregate to stare and whisper, Izuku had only seen a few attempt to talk to him, and the entire time their face was slowly getting redder and their words more jumbled until they said something and scurried off. One time during a Yaomomo study group, Izuku overheard the ending to a conversation and he got a terrible case of second hand embarrassment. It was easy to tell Todoroki wasn't really listening, he had been resting under a tree when the girl walked past and suddenly started talking to him. The girl did catch his attention however, when she blurted out "I've made out with almost every boy in my year!". Loudly.

Everyone within earshot had turned to stare at her, and Todoroki slowly turned his head to look to, his eyebrow quirked, an utterly affronted look in his face. The poor girl looked as if she wanted the ground to swallow her up, she was so pink Izuku was starting to worry about her fainting, and she was spluttering out words to try and make up a cover story. She was saved by Yaoyorozu jumping up and running over, stating loudly a cover story about embarrassment charms kept being cast on the poor girl, and how they should go find a teacher to complain. Yaoyorozu then escorted the girl back to the castle, an arm around her shoulders and a quick "excuse us" to Todoroki.

The girls behind him now, were almost just as pink as that girl had been.

Izuku couldn't see Bakugou, he was seated too far away that people were blocking him from view, but he could see the tips of Kirishima's spiky hair so it was a safe bet that was where Bakugou was sitting. Knowing Bakugou, he was feeling confidant and cocky, probably swearing right now how he was going to get first place. The opposite of how Izuku was feeling.

Prodding at his food dimly, Izuku wondered which Dragon was going to get the pleasure of eating him.

Finally, lunch was over, and Professor Nezu stood up and walked to the podium, a smile on his face and a gleam in his eye.

A hush fell over the Hall, everyone listening carefully. Mina and Sero were shaking Kaminari awake, and he shot up from his sleep to sit upright, a piece of bread falling off his face leaving a trail of butter on his cheek as he rubbed his eyes to get the sleep out of them. Izuku sat up straighter, his eyes going to Professor Might for reassurance, but he wasn't sitting at the high table. Nor was he anywhere in the Great Hall. Izuku frowned, when did he leave?

"Now that our stomachs are full and our minds excited, I think it's time we begin the first task! Champions, please stand up now and head into the Entrance Hall. Everyone else remains seated until further notice." Izuku stood up shakily, his friends giving him last whispers of encouragement as he stepped into the aisle. As he walked, he saw the other champions had gotten up as well. Bakugou was striding with confidence a crazy grin on his face, Todoroki had a cool presence about him as he walked, and Monoma had a smug face on as he walked. Izuku noticed with a start that he was the only one that looked visibly nervous. He gave himself a good inner pep talk as he neared the large oak doors, and he felt much better with the new more confident look on his face.

Soon he was next to all the other champions as they reached the doorway at the same time. Bakugou picked up the pace so he was faster, just so he could be ahead of everyone. Izuku found himself between Monoma and Todoroki as they walked through the doors, but Monoma sped up to walk faster than Bakugou, who in turn sped up as well, and soon it seemed like they were in a race to shove the other aside and be in front.

At the end of the hall, standing on the steps of the large front doors, was All Might, Aizawa, Uwabami, and Endeavor. Figuring that's where they were supposed to go, the champions all started walking that way, Monoma and Bakugou now very close to actually physically shoving the other.

Halfway across the Hall, the sound of footsteps on the stairs made Izuku look past Todoroki at a moving staircase, and to his surprise Madame Recovery and Yaoyorozu were standing on it as it lowered, bags slung over their shoulders and boxes in their hands. Yaoyorozu looked surprise to see them, but when she saw Izuku looking she quickly gave him an encouraging smile and a wave, which he returned with a small one of his own. Noticing the movement, Todoroki glanced towards Yaoyorozu, and Izuku couldn't see his face, but he did see Yaoyorozu's cheeks get slightly pink before she gave Todoroki a wave as well. When he turned back, Izuku thought he looked almost surprised at the friendly gesture.

"That's enough you two, this isn't part of the task there's no reason to compete." Uwabami said sternly to Bakugou and Monoma, just as Bakugou was about to push Monoma and Monoma had moved his foot to trip Bakugou. They both stopped, and begrudgingly stepped away from each other. Bakugou moving his hand from Monoma's face where he had been pushing him, grinding his teeth in irritation. Todoroki and Izuku reached them by then, and unconsciously they all stepped over the threshold together.

All Might raised his arms, and shouted in a large voice.

"CHAMPIONS! ARE YOU ALL READY?!"

Izuku nodded and gave a hum, holding his fists up and giving All Might a confident smile that was defiantly not matching how he felt.

Bakugou had his hands in his pockets, the scowl he had was replaced with a grin of murderous anticipation.

Monoma and Todoroki both had their arms folded, but Monoma moved his to rest on his hips, sleeking his already gelled hair down with a hand.

"Of course!" Monoma said, as if anyone who wasn't ready was an idiot.

"HELL FUCKING YEAH I AM!" Bakugou shouted.

"Yes." Todoroki stated cooly.

All Might rubbed his hands together excitedly, but Endeavor spoke before All Might could.

"We are going to take you to the location of the First Task, follow us and once there we will explain rules and the specifics of the Task." He than turned and started walking towards the forest, and as Uwabami started walking the champions did to.

"Err yes, follow Professor Endeavor!" All Might said, sounding a little downtrodden. No one commented on that however, instead they all started walking to the woods behind Endeavor.

Soon they were in its shady branches, headed in a specific direction that the teachers seemed to know. They were walking single file through the forest, as Endeavor had barked at them to do as they entered. Behind Endeavor and Uwabami, Bakugou trudged through the undergrowth viciously, the occasional curse word could be heard from him as he grumbled under his breath.

After Bakugou it was Monoma, then Izuku, and Todoroki before All Might and Aizawa, who were taking up the rear.

Izuku had noticed that Todoroki had wanted to be in the very back, but All Might insisted he stay with the other champions so Todoroki had sullenly accepted his fate behind Deku.

Izuku could feel the glare coming from him, that Izuku figured out eventually was directed at Endeavor.

After maybe fifteen minutes of walking, they broke through into a large clearing. And the champions stopped to gape at what was before them, even Todoroki opened his mouth slightly in surprise.

A huge, wood looking stadium was placed in the center of the clearing, its seats circled the stadium and were box like in shape, they jutted outwards m and must have been held up by magic, as there were no supports holding it up. Izuku couldn't see inside, but he had a guess that it must be large enough to hold a dragon while not putting the people in the stands in harms way.

Instead of taking them to the stadium, they instead took them to an attached room with a single door.

Opening the door, Endeavor jerked his head, signaling the champions to enter. Walking in, Izuku found himself in a room about the size of a small classroom, with comfortable enough looking wooden chairs placed here and there around small round tables. The walls were made of the same wood as the stadium, and across the room in that direction was a door Izuku figured must lead to the stadium. Other than the chairs and tables, the room was bare.

Bakugou threw himself into a chair, and it creaked from the sudden force and weight, Bakugou then raised his feet onto a table and reclined as the teachers walked in. Aizawa rolled his eyes at Bakugou, while Uwabami looked disapproving, but she didn't say anything about it however.

"Please take a seat as well, all of you. You'll be waiting here for a few more minutes while Professor Nezu walks the other students to the stands." Uwabami said kindly, gesturing towards the chairs and tables for the rest of them.

Not wanting to sit at the same table as Bakugou- the low chance of him letting Izuku sit with him was also a factor- Izuku ended up sitting at one of the two tables with Todoroki. Monoma, seemed to like pissing Bakugou off, so he went and sat at Bakugou's table, looking at his feet disdainfully.

Once they were all seated, Uwabami waved her wand and a pitcher of water and glasses appeared on each table.

"If our time schedule is right, then Nezu will be arriving with the students now and they should be sorting into the seats." Uwabami said, flicking up her purple sleeve and checking her watch.

Endeavor strode towards the unknown, presumably stadium door.

"I'll go make sure things are on schedule." He said, then he opened and went through the door.

Silence filled the space between the champions, the teachers behind them were whispering and chatting, Izuku could hear Uwabami and All Might having a serious conversation on tea, while Aizawa had conjured his normal sleeping bag and was curled up in it.

Five more minutes passed, and finally footsteps approached from behind the door, and it opened to let in Nezu, Endeavor, and then Professor Ryukyu, the Care of Magical Creatures teacher at Hogwarts- and world renowned Dragon Keeper.

On her shoulders, curled around her neck with small wings beating rhythmically with its sleeping breathing, was a baby Norwegian ridgeback. It's black scales barely reflected the light of the candles, and Izuku gulped, the memory of the adult Norwegian Ridgeback appearing in his mind and he was immediately reminded just how real what was about to happen was.

At seeing Ryukyu, Bakugou removed his feet from the table, not out of respect, no, out of excitement.

"I'm glad our schedules going well!" Nezu said, clapping his hands and rubbing them together. Uwabami nodded, stepping forward to join them at the front of the room.

"I am as well! Are we ready to begin?" She asked, leaning slightly to address Ryukyu as well. Ryukyu nodded and smiled, reaching up to give the baby dragon a scratch on its- Izuku corrected himself subconsciously- Norge's head. (Ryukyu was very particular about students remembering all the dragons she hatched names, and Norge was her most recent child and name for students to remember)

"Yes, we are all ready to go! Please begin!" Nezu said, stepping backwards and bowing, letting Uwabami take center stage as she turned to face the champions, an excited gleam in her eye.

"We will know tell you the rules and what you are about to face. Listen carefully to the rules, if you break one it will majorly impact your score for the worse. Break to many, and we will have to excuse you from the Tournament." Uwabami turned slightly, and Ryukyu stepped forward at her signal. "This is Professor Ryukyu, she is the Care of Magical Creatures professor here at Hogwarts, and is a world-renowned expert in one very important-" she cast a glance at the sleeping dragon, now curled on its back around Ryukyu's neck. "and perhaps noticeable field- Dragons."

Bakugou's eyes lit up, and a grin formed as he sat straighter and leaned into the table, eager to hear more.

"As you all may have guessed by now, what with her specialty and…" Uwabami paused, and looked unsure of what to call the baby dragon.

"Norge, her name is Norge." Ryukyu told her, and at hearing her name, Norge awoke, and shook her tiny dragon head and yawned.

"Norge then." Uwabami said, before continuing. "But with Ryukyu and Norge's presence, you may have guessed that the first task is facing dragons."

Izuku shifted, this wasn't new to him, but hearing it said, with a literal dragon in front of him, was making it quite real. He didn't get to see Todoroki or Monoma's reaction, he was a little distracted by Bakugou's.

A loud bang echoed around the room as Bakugou thumped his fist on the table loudly, laughing almost manically with glee.

"FUCK YEAH! Fucking Dragons!" He leaned even more onto the table, one hand open while the other clamped into a fist, an eagerly anticipated grin on his face. "Well, what do we have to do? Do we get to fight them?!" He asked in his own eager way.

Uwabami was taken aback by his glee, and she was unsure of how to answer. To save her, Ryukyu stepped forward and started talking, raising an arm to chest level as Norge crawled down it to stare at the champions.

"Patience Bakugou, I'll explain the rules and what you'll be doing, so try not to get too loud and excited or Norge will want to play with you!" Norge made a noise that sounded like a croaky growl, but it had a friendly feel to it and she was excitedly staring at Bakugou, her tail swaying side to side as her head rested on Ryukyu's palm.

"The First Task will have each of you facing against a single dragon, alone with no help. The goal is not to _fight_ the dragon-" Bakugou slumped down a little, disappointment written on his face. "-but to retrieve a golden egg from among a nest of real eggs. Dragons however, by nature are incredibly protective of their eggs, especially the female breeds we have for you all. Wild Dragons are incredibly aggressive towards humans already, and normally the moment they see you they will attempt to eat you, but since these females have eggs, they will not run after you and will instead guard the eggs. So to get your golden egg, you will have to distract- or yes, fight- the mother to gain a shot at grabbing the egg." Bakugou immediately looked interested again, and Norge seemed to sense his excitement as she leapt without warning off Ryukyu's arm and onto Bakugou and Monoma's table, her nails scrapping against the wood as she scampered forward to Bakugou.

Monoma leapt- almost as far as Norge did- the moment she moved and he flew out of his seat and pressed against the wall, his wide eyes staring intensely at Norge.

In contrast, Bakugou, grinned and lifted his arm, and his dangling long robe sleeve caught her attention and she pounced, latching into the thick fabric with her sharp- but tiny- teeth. She growled lowly as Bakugou lifted his sleeve up and down gently, to see if she'd fall off on her own.

"What a little fuck." Bakugou said, his gruff voice tinged with the most affection Izuku had ever heard from him. Shaking his sleeve firmly, Bakugou attempted to shake the little dragon off him, but it seemed to be more of a fun game for the both, as Norge's tail was waggling fast and Bakugou was grinning with amusement. Ryukyu laughed amused, bringing a hand to cover her mouth while her other rested in her hip.

"Aww she likes you Bakugou!" She then turned to look at Monoma, who was still pressed against the wall. "Don't worry Monoma she's well behaved, you can sit back down if you like she won't hurt you." Monoma shook his head and opened his mouth, probably to say no- when it occurred to him that he was about to face a ten times larger version of Norge, and that being near Norge might be good preparation.

"Alright, I'll sit down…" he moved slowly, and sat back down, jumping a little as Norge turned to look at him sideways, jaws still locked to Bakugou's slowly tearing sleeve. Bakugou snorted at him.

"She won't fucking bite you ya shit." Bakugou then looked at Monoma critically, a sneer in his voice. "Actually I take that back, her main diet has shitty mice in it and you look rather mousy so she might mistake you for one and just take a huge fucking chomp out of your nose." Monoma reeled back from Bakugou's insult.

"You Hogwarts-"

"Terribly sorry to interrupt but we are on a time schedule boys, so Bakugou if you're fine playing with Norge she can stay as long as you listen." Ryukyu cut in, and Monoma crossed his legs haughtily. Bakugou nodded, Norge's teeth still clamped and she slid down slowly. Ryukyu continued, drawing her wand and twirling it idly.

"As I was saying, you will have to come up with your own plan to get the golden egg. There are of course, some rules that are important you remember, and if you break them your points will be changed to a lower number." She held up her right hand, and held up her fingers to correlate with the rules.

"1. Do not harm the real eggs. This includes causing the dragon or environment to harm them as well.

2\. Do not use the people watching in your plan or put them in harm's way.

3\. Don't cheat. If you do, you will be disqualified from getting points higher than a five in a ten point system." She looked around at them, her long dragon wing earrings swinging as she looked at them expectantly. "Do you all understand?"

They nodded, Bakugou moving his other arm to stand underneath Norge, and she planted her bottom claws so she was no longer dangling. Ryukyu tilted her head with a smile, motioning for Uwabami to hand her something.

"I'm glad you all do! Now, how it's going to be decided who will face what dragon, is you will all reach into this sack-" she accepted the small dragon hide sack Uwabami gave her and shook it slightly, and Izuku could hear the shuffling of something inside. "- and you will draw out a dragon at random and that will be the one you will face. The dragon will have a number from 1 to 4, and that will be the order you will follow to face your dragons. One will be first, while four will be last, understand?" Ryukyu asked again, and the champions nodded again. "Alright then, let start the choosing. Midoriya, come pick your dragon."

Izuku got up quickly, and walked towards where she was holding the bag. She gave him a friendly smile, her sharp teeth did not combine with his nerves well, and made him give her a nervous smile in return instead of the more confident one he wanted. Reaching his hand in, Izuku was surprised to not touch paper, but cold metal. Moving, cold metal. It squirmed out of his touch, and he had to move his hand around till he was able to clasp his hand around one metal lump, and pull it out.

Looking down, Izuku was amazed to see a moving metal figurine of a dragon squirming around in his palm, it was about the size of an apricot, and it looked identical to the dragon now playing tug of war with Bakugou's sleeve.

"Ah! Midoriya you are facing the Norwegian Ridgeback!" The little model then sat on its hind quarters and opened its mouth, and sparks shout out and hovered above Izuku's palm, forming the number 3 in sparkly light. "And you will go third. You may sit back down now- and keep the model if you'd like." Ryukyu told him cheerfully, and as he turned to go back to his seat she called Monoma over.

He got the Common Welsh Green, and was going first. Todoroki was then called up.

Pulling his hand out, Todoroki opened his hand to reveal a silvery blue dragon, and the sparks that leapt out of its mouth to form the number four were blue in color.

"Ah, the Swedish Short Snout. That's rather unfortunate you pulled that one Todoroki. Oh well, you'll be going last after Midoriya." Todoroki nodded stiffly, and he shoved the dragon into a pocket of his black uniform pants.

"That of course, leaves Bakugou with the Hungarian Horntail and facing his dragon second!" Ryukyu stated, walking over and placing the tiny replica of a Hungarian Horntail in Bakugou's hand. "By the way, if you'd like you can pat your shoulder and see if Norge will crawl up there. She really likes to sleep on shoulders."

Bakugou patted his shoulder almost instantly, and Norge let go of his sleeve quickly and crawled up his arm to nestle on his broad shoulders.

Izuku gulped, as Monoma was told to walk through the door with the adults, heading to face his Dragon.

Ten minutes later, and Izuku could hear faint commotion outside as Monoma attempted to get his golden egg. The rest of them where in the room alone, all the teachers having left to spectate the match.

Izuku fiddled aimlessly with his Norwegian Ridgeback model, his mind racing to come up with a good strategy against it. He actually felt sort of confident in his plan, which was something Izuku hadn't expected.

Looking around, Izuku analyzed the other champions.

Bakugou was still sitting at his table, Norge curled up on his shoulder and sleeping deeply, the low hum of her breathing filled the otherwise quiet room. Bakugou was deep in thought, one hand raised and scratching Norge absently on the head, his eyebrows furrowed deeply as he worked out a plan. He was ignoring everyone one else in the room, which Izuku preferred.

Todoroki had placed the Swedish Short Snout on the table and watched it with a scowl as it ran around, he was resting his head on his left fist while his right was tapping his wand on his leg.

Izuku watched the Swedish Short Snout run around the table, and he remembered the odd thing Ryukyu had said when Todoroki had pulled out the Swedish Snout.

 _"the Swedish Short Snout. That's rather unfortunate you pulled that one Todoroki."_ Why would Ryukyu say that? From his extensive studying, Izuku remembered that the Hungarian Horntail was the most violent towards humans, while the Swedish Short Snout was dangerous but had less deaths to it cause of its preferred territory of uninhabited hills. It was said, that it's rather hostile towards other species of Magical Creatures, but that couldn't be a problem-

Izuku froze staring at Todoroki as his mind raced, connecting the dots.

A group of girls always somewhere nearby, and they are compelled to say embarrassing things to try and impress him. Mina feeling an overbearing thought to not look away from him, the overall effect he had on girls that just his presence made them blush, add that to the fact that the Short Snout was considered a bad match up for him and it could only mean one thing…

Shouto Todoroki was half magical creature.

A half-breed.

Izuku's mind quickly ran through all possible magical creatures he could be, and after knocking off giant, goblin, and warlock off his list he was left with Vampire or Veela. No, scratch that Todoroki was able to be out in the sun with no drawbacks when even half vampires got incredibly itchy from the sun, so he couldn't be a vampire.

Veela however, checked all the boxes.

Girls found him immediately and almost magically attractive? Check.

Obviously his father wasn't the magical creature so it would have to be his mom, and Veela were only women so that also was a check.

Being part Veela would also potentially irritate the Swedish Short Snout, which would explain Ryukyu's comment.

The faint noise outside finally quieted down, and that broke Todoroki out of his stupor. He scooped the Swedish Short Snout and tucked it back into his pocket, glancing around at the others as he did so. Izuku, who wasn't sure what to do with his new revelation, was just staring at Todoroki with wide eyes and an open mouth. He had never met a half breed before.

Todoroki leaned back away from Izuku slightly, and frowned in discomfort.

"Midoriya." Todoroki spoke, his voice flat. Bakugou glanced over at the both of them with a disgusted grimace, before turning to face the opposite wall. Norge stretched on his shoulder and flopped down into his folded arms to be cradled, quickly falling back asleep with a gravelly yawn. "Why are you staring at me?"

Izuku hadn't realized he'd been staring and he jumped with horror at Todoroki's question. He raised his arms and waved them about, trying to think of a plausible excuse.

"Oh! I'm sorry! I wasn't meaning to stare it's just that uhm, I noticed-" Izuku stopped, unsure of what to say. He didn't want to seem rude, and having already been caught staring he didn't want to say the wrong thing as well. Bakugou already hated his guts enough for everyone, Izuku didn't need Todoroki disliking him as well.

Todoroki raised an eyebrow.

"You noticed...?" He prompted, and he raised his hand to touch his face while he spoke, assuming he had something there that Izuku had been staring at. Izuku felt panic well within him as Todoroki's fingers touched only his scar, and immediately his face fell to a hard scowl.

"No it wasn't that!" Izuku quickly spilled, his hands waving faster as he tried to think. "It wasn't that no, um, how do I say this…" Izuku's voice grew quieter as he spoke, and he covered his mouth in thought, falling into his signature pose and mumbling as he ran through his options. Behind him, the door opened and Ryukyu poked her head through, smiling cheerfully at Bakugou and beckoning him forward.

"You're up Bakugou!" She called, patting her shoulder as she did, so that when Bakugou stood up, Norge saw the gesture and leapt out of Bakugou's arms to crawl up Ryukyu. Bakugou strode forwards with confidence, his figurine of the Horntail still waddling on the table behind him.

Izuku didn't even notice all this happening, as his mind was still trying to figure out the best way to handle this awkward situation with Todoroki. Just as the door closed, Izuku decided it was best to be direct, Todoroki seemed to be a "get right to it" kind of guy, so perhaps he would understand the direct approach the best.

"Well, you see, I uh, well!" Izuku started, scratching the back of his head as he tried to get the words out correctly. "I- after hearing what Professor Ryukyu said about the Swedish Short Snout- you know how it was a bad match up for you- and I started wondering why. And I totally understand that it wasn't my place to do so but I did and I'm really sorry- But I analyze things its what I do best- both my strong and weak point I've been told haha!" Izuku awkwardly laughed, coughed, and continued. Todoroki looking at him with vague confusion as Izuku started talking very fast. "Anyway, I've read a lot about the Short Snout and the only thing I remembered, that stood out anyway, was that it was hostile towards other magical creatures because it is in Sweden where a lot of trolls and other creatures are so it has to be really protective of its territory since it likes to live in isolated non-populated habitats so to defend where it lives it's naturally hostile. And that was the only thing I could think of that could possibly fit with what Ryukyu- Professor Ryukyu sorry!- because Half breeds are a thing- a- a common and totally not bad thing!" Izuku stopped there to take a couple breaths, and to measure Todoroki's reaction so far. Todoroki's face had become emotionless, which Izuku considered a bad sign but he couldn't exactly stop now. He drummed his right fingers onto his left palm as he anxiously finished. "So, all of that was a lead up for me to ask-" Izuku took a deep breath, and readying himself for the unknown reaction Todoroki was about to give him.

"A-are you half Veela?"

Todoroki stared, and he looked genuinely surprised. He brought his left hand to rest on the table, while his right picked at something on his uniforms blazer, his face recovering from the surprise to go back to it's normal look.

"I.. was not expecting that." Todoroki stated finally, "Most people just ask if I'm a half breed. Which," his fingernails dug into his uniform, his brows falling down to a scowl. "I am."

Izuku let out an unconscious sigh of relief, which he immediately felt was the wrong thing to do, so instead tried to cover it up by talking.

"Alright, um… that was why I was staring at you by the way! I wasn't staring at, err," He gestured vaguely, trying to convey that he hadn't been staring at Todoroki's scar. "yeah that was why I was staring… I'm sorry again for doing that it was rude..." Todoroki nodded at the explanation, and they fell into silence.

Maybe two minutes passed, and suddenly a loud explosion echoed from outside, making Izuku look towards the door. It was then he noticed Bakugou missing, and he smiled a little to himself as the explosion was a very Bakugou spell to use.

"May I ask how you got to Veela with the information from the Short Snout?" Todoroki asked, and Izuku looked back at him in surprise. Todoroki had his legs and arms folded, and was looking at Midoriya in what Izuku considered a rather friendly blank expression.

Izuku shifted in his seat, this time to get more comfortable, and scratched at his neck.

"Um well, it wasn't just the info from the Short Snout. I went off just that info first, and I figured, after going through the short list of magical creatures I know that can have half breeds, that you were most likely a Vampire or Veela."

Todoroki nodded, and Izuku wondered if he was understanding the logic Izuku went through to decide on those two breeds.

"That's logical. What made you decide Veela was the more likely option?" Questioned Todoroki, leaning slightly backwards in his seat.

"I went through what I knew of them," Izuku replied, feeling slightly more relaxed around Todoroki know that he seemed rather fine with Izuku having figured out his half breed status. "and Veela fit more with what I've seen and heard. How girls act around you kind of gave it away once I gave it thought." Izuku laughed slightly, Mina's story of falling out a tree immediately coming to mind. She wasn't embarrassed by it, and in fact enjoyed lavishing it to the point that when Izuku heard it, she had done a backflip on the way down. Todoroki looked slightly confused.

"What do yo-" He started, but loud cheering was suddenly heard and interrupted him. Both turned and stared where the stadium was, and Todoroki raised his eyebrows a little.

"That was… quick."

Izuku nodded, it had maybe been only 8 or 10 minutes since Bakugou went out there, and from the sound of it he had already gotten the egg.

"Yeah, especially compared to Monoma…" Izuku slumped in his seat, hiding behind his hands as he mumbled, barely loud enough for Todoroki to hear. "That's Kacchan for you… gets it done quick, loudly, and with explosions…" Todoroki looked over to where Bakugou's Hungarian Horntail was still growling, and quirked his eyebrow up.

"He was against the Horntail to, he must be talented if he was to get pass the most viscous dragon so quickly." Midoriya nodded, and was about to say something when the door opened, and Ryukyu and All Might both stuck their heads in, Norge's little head also popping through the open door.

"Midoriya my boy! It's time for you to face your dragon!" All Might exclaimed, opening the door wider and making a grand sweeping motion to invite Midoriya forward. Izuku scrambled up, nodding his head quickly as he ran over to them. He paused before walking through and looked back at Todoroki and gave him a smile filled with nerves, but it was easy to see the friendliness behind the nervousness.

"Good luck Todoroki on your dragon!" Todoroki looked completely shocked, his mouth even opened a little and his eyes were wide. Obviously he wasn't expecting a friendly gesture.

"Ah, you do good as well…" Todoroki said awkwardly, giving Midoriya a little nod.

Midoriya then turned and walked through the door, and down the long wooden hallway where a bright light was shining at the end, and a distant chatter of voices slowly getting louder.

After the door closed behind Midoriya, Professor All Might, and Professor Ryukyu, Shouto Todoroki was left alone in the room. A few seconds later he heard the applause for Midoriya as he walked into the stadium, but after they faded out he couldn't hear anything but the low rumble of occasional flames.

He sat motionless, pondering the conversation he just had with Midoriya with some confusion.

He had suspected some people would figure out his Veela half, but he had always assumed it would be after he had been at Hogwarts for longer than a month. Two months was how long it usually took his fellow Durmstrang students to figure it out, but Midoriya had figured it out faster than anyone at Durmstrang ever bothered with, and with only a small hint to go on as well. And when people did figure out he was a half breed, they usually assumed Vampire, since muggle media had combined Vampires and Veela's in their movies and now everyone just assumes Veela's are Vampires since they seem more "attractive" now they also had Veela's appeal.

Shouto didn't understand it. What about getting blood sucked out of you by a pair of sharp fangs and getting a wound that's painful so appealing? Shouto also didn't understand how Veela Magic worked, but at least Veela's didn't suck out your blood.

But that was a chain of thought he didn't need to be on right now, the point was, the fact that Midoriya was able to figure out Shouto was half Veela with the little he had to go off was- well, Shouto wasn't going to lie, it was impressive.

When Midoriya decided to stay in the Tournament, Endeavor had raged about it the whole night. Shouto could hear him from his cabin on the ship, shouting at the few teachers they had brought along and raging that All Might was again using his influence to get what he wanted. Shouto had no idea how his father had come to that conclusion, from what he had seen, Professor Might had seemed apprehensive to let Midoriya be in the Tournament, but was willing to let him participate for the safety of the other students. But, Endeavor was bias, Shouto knew that. He had known it ever since he was a child…

He shook his head, bringing one hand to knock lightly against it to get himself out of that train thought. He needed his head clear to face his dragon, and those memories would do nothing but cloud it.

He felt a wiggle in his pocket, and reaching in his fingers found the Swedish Short Snout trying to gnaw at his wand, but not progressing as it didn't have any teeth. Grabbing it by its tail, Shouto pulled it out and stared at it dangling for a moment, watching it thrash as it tried to bite his fingers. Even the figurine Swedish Short Snout was being violent towards him, not exactly a good omen his sister would say… but Shouto didn't believe in omens.

The Hungarian Horntail figurine that Bakugou had left on his table caught Shouto's attention as it leapt to try and catch a fly. Standing up, Shouto walked over and flicked the Short Snout figurine down onto the table as well. The two small metal dragons started prowling around each other in circle, sending metallic grinding noises that Shouto guessed were supposed to be growls at the other. As he turned, the sound of applause suddenly broke through the walls, signaling that Midoriya had gotten the egg. Shouto blinked, it had only been about 20 minutes, Midoriya had gotten it done fast to.

Though, Shouto recalled what Professor All Might had said the night they were chosen, so Midoriya had to do it quickly before his "unique" magic came through. Whatever that meant.

A few minutes later, Ryukyu opened the door and smiled at him, Norge no longer on her shoulders.

"Your turn Todoroki!"

Shouto stood up and followed her out of the room into the long wooden hallway. It was almost completely dark as Professor Ryukyu shut the door, except for an open doorway at the end of the hall shining with light. Shouto started walking towards it briskly, prepared to get the first task over with as soon as possible. Professor Ryukyu walked behind him, humming a tuneless song as they made their way along.

At the fast pace Shouto was walking, he reached the doorway in no time, the line of light covering him as he stepped through.

Walking through the doorway of light, Shouto was greeted to heavy cheering and whistles, and when his eyes adjusted to the bright light, he saw high above him the students sitting in the outset box like seating that they had seen from the outside. The wood was made of Dragonheart Oak, a fire-resistant tree that grew mostly in the forests of Romania.

Shouto glanced around at everyone, some people- mostly girls- were standing up and cheering with exuberance down at him. One girl with pink hair sitting in the front- a Hufflepuff judging from her vest- stood up and wolf whistled loudly at him, only to be grabbed by two girls from Gryffindor and Ravenclaw and pulled back into her seat.

Shouto felt slightly surprised as he recognized the Ravenclaw as the ponytailed girl Midoriya had waved at in the Entrance Hall. His gaze lingered on her for a moment, as a nagging feeling that he knew her from somewhere else was pulling at his brain...

She suddenly looked back down towards the stadium, one arm hooked through the Hufflepuff's as she restrained her from standing up, and she and Shouto locked eyes for a second.

Shouto broke the eye contact and turned to face the large rocky arena, forcing himself to refocus on the dangerous task at hand. Professor Ryukyu patted him confidently on the back, before stepping forward and pulling out her wand, she reached up and put the tip of her wand in midair, and then she pulled it down. Shouto saw the glimmering air of a magic field being open where her wand pointed. Once it was open enough for Shouto to walk through, she moved her head to tell him, and he stepped forward and up onto the terrain.

The floor was made up of large, boulder slabs, which elevated where Shouto was standing slightly off the stadium ground. They were shaped into a large circle, and fit into the circle stadium by being slightly smaller than it, a good hundred feet of space between the arena's edge and the stadium wall. Shouto could now tell standing inside it, that the stadium was roughly the size of a muggle football stadium. There were more boulders carefully placed to stimulate natural terrain, there was even a small cliff near a pond of water off on the other side, and there were three trees placed randomly as well that didn't provide a lot of cover.

As Shouto stepped up, he noticed the judges in their judging box. They were in the "middle" of the stadium, in a section of stands that was closest to the arena directly across from where Shouto stood now, ponytail Ravenclaw was sitting opposite the judges a little to the right, and she was fiddling with binoculars now that her pink haired friend had calmed down.

In the judges box, Professor Nezu stood up as Professor Ryukyu made her way up to join them, Endeavor sitting directly to his left with Uwabami on his right. He pointed his wand at his throat, and Shouto presumed he was magnifying his voice.

"Durmstrang Champion Shouto Todoroki! You will have an hour and thirty minutes to collect the Golden Egg from your Dragon- the Swedish Short Snout!" Nezu placed his hands on top of a large hourglass, and Shouto tensed as Nezu started counting down. "Begin in 3. 2.1.." he flipped the hourglass over so that the sand was falling. "GO!"

Shouto moved instantly, first running more towards the middle, where he could see the tips of the dragon's blue gray scales prowling as it paced around its nest. There was a field of boulders blocking him a complete view of the short Snout, but as it was also blocking HIM from the Short Snouts view, Shouto wasn't going to complain.

Deftly running over loose rocks, Shouto's mind was turning like an engine as he took everything he was seeing and formulating it into a plan as he moved. He needed to move quickly, both to beat Midoriya's and Bakugou's time, but also to lessen the chance of the Short Snout catching his smell. He wasn't sure exactly what would happen, but the closer he got to the dragon the more the Veela magic in his veins started prickling with pent up defensive magic, sensing the nearby threat and preparing for it.

Leaping across a boulder, Shouto finally made it to the stack of rocks he had been aiming for, they had a good view of where the Short Snout prowled while also giving him good potential cover. Shouto studied the Short Snout.

It's blue and gray scales glinted in the sun, and a permanent low growl was coming from her belly as she glared at all the people in the stands, wary of them. The nest filled with eggs- including the hard to miss golden one- was on her right, between her and the field of boulders from before.

A plan started forming in Shouto's mind, as he noticed a large rock within his magic field that could easily be transfigured into a sheep to distract the Short Snout while Shouto ran forward and grabbed the egg.

His hand tightened around his wand, and he started to lift it from behind the cover, when suddenly, the Short Snout froze. It raised her large head, and sniffed that air. Huge nostrils constricting as it tried to identify whatever it smelled. Shouto froze as well, as he noticed the breeze ruffling his hair, heading down wind. Straight at the Short Snout.

Cursing internally, he tried to concentrate on turning the rock into a sheep, knowing that if he did it quickly enough the Short Snout would become distracted. He hadn't even finished forming the spell in his mind however, when half a second later, the Short Snout let out a heavy growl that turned into a snarl, and it whipped around and stared directly where he was crouching. Shouto heard it move, and held still, preparing to roll out of the way if the Snout decided it wanted to attack. He breathed quietly and counted the seconds.

1…

Casting his eyes about, he tried to scout out the next good cover. There was one of the trees about 40 feet away, but it looked too thin to give him good enough cover, so Shouto dismissed it. The wood would just burn anyway.

2…

The way he came was to awkward to maneuver back to, and since the dragon was soon going to be aware of him, it was too risky.

3…

The dragon's low growling was growing in its chest, and Shouto scanned the area more urgently, and he peeked slightly around his hiding spot, focused in on a nice cluster of boulders set apart from the others. That would work.

As he thought four, the Short Snort let out a roar, towering up onto its hind legs and sending a blast of blue fire to where Shouto was hiding. Shouto moved instantly, rolling out of the way just as the blue streaked behind his legs, and when he rolled onto his feet, he threw up his wand on instinct as another ball of blue soared towards him. He cast up a shield charm that broke upon the flames hitting it, but it dispersed them enough that there was none left to burn Shouto.

He ran, casting shield charm after shield charm as the Swedish Short Snout relentlessly aimed at him. Diving behind a cluster of boulders, Shouto braced himself for fire to hit the boulders and heat them up, but it didn't happen. Instead, the Short Snout got tired of not hitting him, and decided to come after him itself.

The ground shook as the Short Snout reared up onto its legs and sent a burst of flame straight into the air- it's roar vibrating across the stadium as it lunged down onto all fours and rammed into the boulders he was crouched behind. Shouto rolled to the left, barely missing the Short Snouts tree trunk legs as it tried to trample him.

He pivoted when he got back onto his feet, and shoulder rolled out of the way of another ball of flames, that hit where he had been standing. He readied his wand, and as he rolled onto his feet he sent a stinging hex at one of the Short Snout's eyes. As the Short Snout recoiled, the spell barely missed, Shouto started running again and sent another spell- this time a burning hex- again at its eyes.

This time, the spell hit.

The Short Snout let out a howl of pain as it snapped its head from side to side, trying to get rid of the burning now in its right eye.

Shouto kept running away from the nest, knowing full well that the burning hex would dissipate soon and the dragon would pick up on its chase. The cursed wind changed direction, and Shouto was now running against it instead of with it. This meant the Short Snout was now directly in the path to yet again smell his scent.

Shouto could predict the exact moment the scent reached its nostrils, as it seemed to freeze despite the pain it should still be in, and ominously sniffed the air.

Veela magic may entice humans in an attraction way, but when it came to other magical creatures, Veela magic really did the opposite. As evident in the blood curdling roar the Short Snout let out, as it fully smelled Shouto and its instincts screamed at it to kill the Veela. A long history of Veela getting humans to kill dragons for them _and_ doing it themselves hadn't left a good imprint on the dragons.

A loud thundering crack was heard, and Shouto looked over his shoulder to see that the Short Snout had slammed its feet so hard onto the ground as it launched towards him, that the giant slabs and crumbled and cracked beneath it.

The dragon once again chasing after him, Shouto was nearing the edge of the arena, on the opposite side of where he had entered. The dragon closing in on him, Shouto glanced behind him and judged the distance between them with a practiced expertise, calculating the exact moment the dragon would pounce as it neared. Reaching the edge, Shouto slid to a halt right before the barely visible magic wall. He stopped, listening carefully to the thundering footsteps of the dragon as it bounded towards him with a vengeful snarl. At the last moment, right as the dragon was about to tower over him and its mouth opened and the signs of flames climbing its throat appeared. All of Shouto's senses were on high alert, his Veela magic prickling in warning, screaming at him to move. Shouto listened around his Veela senses, instead focusing on the sound of the dragon before making his move. Just as the flames appeared at the back of the throat, and a gigantic claw came crashing down almost directly behind him, Shouto took a sudden right pivot and dodged the other swiping claw, running sideways away from the dragon before he had to slide down on his side to dodge the other claw- and as he slid he sent a precise spell, directly into the dragon's open mouth.

The blue light landed directly on its tongue- and ice coated the tongue almost instantly. The fire either died or disappeared as the ice expanded and grew inside the mouth, until it was wedged open with solid magic ice.

The Short Snout thrashed and panicked at the unfamiliar cold, forming and shooting its boiling flames at the ice to try and melt it. Shouto wasted no time in taking this opportunity of the Short Snout distracted to run back towards the nest, running as fast as he could. The Short Snout had some of the hottest flames in the world, and it was only a matter of seconds before its mouth would be free again. While it was still in range, Shouto cast another ice spell over his shoulder- this time at the back legs of the dragon. Shouto calculated that meant he had at least 30 extras seconds to reach the egg once the mouth was free, and that should be enough time to grab the egg.

Behind him, the ice inside the mouth was heating up and melting rapidly, and just as he was 30 feet away from the boulder field, a long flame of blue blasted through the ice and melted it instantly, and then it directed its flames at its feet, melting the ice encasing it at a rapid pace. Shouto heard it happen, and adrenaline kicked in as the shattering sound of the dragon breaking free reached him.

Vaulting on top of the boulders, Shouto figured that if he remembered correctly, he could roll right next to the eggs this way and run directly towards the edge, where presumably they'd let him out. If he instead went to skirt around the boulders and run along them to get the egg the chance of the short Snout catching up was higher. Running a top the boulders might heighten the chance of him getting hit by flames, but it also lessened the seconds the dragon had to reach him.

The ground started shaking as the Short Snout shot towards him, and Shouto cursed internally as he ran faster with adrenaline. The dragon was able to make it to the boulders faster than he was, and Shouto had just reached the edge and leapt off just as the Short Snout was in range of the boulders.

Shouto had situation himself correctly, and he was right next to the nest. Having no time to grab the egg by hand, he chanced summoning it with accio- despite the fact that Endeavor had ordered him not to, since the chance of the egg having anti-summoning charms on them were high. Shouto was pleased to see that Endeavor was wrong however, as the egg reacted to the summoning charm and flew into his arms, where he tucked it into the crook of his left elbow. He slid onto his side as the Short Snout crashed into the field of boulders- sending bits and pieces flying outwards. With his right hand, Shouto was about to cast a shield charm over himself, when he noticed a large chunk of boulder flying towards the nest, about to crush the real dragon's eggs.

Shouto's eyes widened as he remembered the rule of not getting the real eggs harmed- and in a split-second decision, he flicked his wand towards the eggs, and cast a shield charm over them instead.

The Short Snout destroyed some more boulders, and a new wave of boulder bits rained down on him. Most only the size of small rocks, and as he tucked his head beneath his left arm and hide the egg under him, Shouto gritted his teeth as he felt the bruises and cuts forming. The shield charm over the eggs had saved them, as almost all the larger pieces had smashed towards them, only to bounce off and away because of the shield charm.

One particularly large piece- about the size of a large watermelon- bounced off the shield charm, and soared directly at Shouto. He noticed it a second to late, and all he had time to do was roll his head away and toss his wand out of his hand, before the piece came smashing down onto his right arm. Shouto bite down a yell, as pain seared up his arm from his elbow down to his wrist as it broke under the weight and force of the watermelon rock.

Forcing himself to move through the pain, Shouto got onto his knees, and felt through his Veela magic for his wand- which he was could feel through the Veela hair in its core. Sensing it a couple feet away, Shouto raised his hand and pulled it towards him, and he felt the pleasant-through-the-pain flow of magic go through him as the wand came soaring into his left hand. With his wand now securely in his left hand, Shouto shoved the boulder off his right, clenching his teeth in pain at the heavy movement. He hissed a little as he stood up, the pain from his useless arm only barely tolerable.

The Short Snout seemed to realize it was almost harming its eggs, as it stopped smashing into the boulders around the time Shouto's arm got crushed. It moved forward heavily and sniffed its eggs, checking on them while Shouto got his wand and stood up. Noticing the dragon being distracted, Shouto accioed the egg again, this time it was more awkward to carry it as he now had to hold his wand and the egg in the same arm. Cautiously, Shouto took a couple steps back, wand raised halfway and his eyes not leaving the Short Snout's still bent over form.

He cursed, as his boot found a twig and it snapped beneath his weight, reminding the dragon of his presence. Shouto readied himself to cast some more ice spells as the dragon's head snapped towards him. Burning eyes focusing on him with animosity smoldering in them. It moved sideways off the eggs and started circling him, Shouto following its movements more rigidly due to his searing arm.

Shouto's mind was flying through possible plan after possible plan- but he fortunately didn't need to act on any of them.

All he needed to do after all, was get the egg.

Just as the Swedish Short Snout crouched down and a roar started bubbling in its throat- another dragon fell from the sky and landed on top of it.

The Short Snout roared with fury as this new dragon pinned it down, and the new dragon roared back.

Professor Nezu's voice suddenly boomed loudly, making Shouto almost jump, but he managed to not show his surprise.

"CONGRATULATIONS SHOUTO TODOROKI! YOU HAVE AVOIDED THE DRAGON AND OBTAINED THE GOLDEN EGG! MEANING YOU COMPLETED THE FIRST TASK, AND YOU DID SO IN 25 MINUTES!"

Shouto didn't need to look at his father to know he was scowling, Shouto had finished only quicker than Monoma after all, meaning that if this was a time based Task, he would have been third.

And third wasn't the best.

Stunning spells were being shot at the dragon as Dragon Keepers climbed onto the slabs, and all their spells combined managed to stop the Short Snout. As the short Snout slumped and started snoring, the other dragon climbed off, and Shouto watched with surprise as it slowly shrunk down and the scales receded and fangs shrunk. Claws became hands and feet, and the people who hadn't seen what happened gasped- as Professor Ryukyu stood, a small patch of scales smoothing out back to skin on her face and her eyes turned from completely red back to human pupils.

Ryukyu was a dragon animagus.

She observed the now sleeping dragon for a moment, before turning brightly towards Shouto. She walked smoothly with her hands on her hips towards him, her usual smile on her face.

"Good job Todoroki!" She said as she neared him, and he nodded at her, his wand now tucked in his pocket and left hand clutching at his broken arm to stop it from moving. It hurt a lot when it moved and he needed to withstand the pain long enough to get scored. "You did very good, much better than I expected." Shouto just pursed his lips, not really sure how he was meant to respond. Professor Ryukyu didn't seem to care that he wasn't responding, and instead she focused her attention on his arm.

Gesturing at it, Ryukyu frowned a little.

"Your arm is broken, isn't it?" When Shouto nodded, she turned and called over one of the dragon keepers.

"Alexander, why don't you come over here and take Todoroki to the hospital tent."

Shouto immediately shook his head.

"I can't, I need to stay for scores." Ryukyu shook her head, waving that away as the Alexander walked over.

"Don't worry, the judges still have to deliberate over your score and that will take a while, and when they do decide Madame Recovery- the school nurse- or her apprentice will bring you out to receive them. There's no way for you to miss them."

Having no counter argument for why he should stay, Shouto followed the Dragon Keeper to the medical tent. The golden egg still tucked under his arm and a scowl on his face as he tried to fight the pain of his throbbing shattered arm.

They had to walk through another hallway, a different, much larger and better lit one than before, and it opened to the clearing instead of a room. Shouto assumed it must be the one everyone else took to get into the stadium.

Near the entrance of the hallway in the clearing, a little off to the side but within 300 feet of the doorway, was a large white tent, with a medical symbol on its pitched roof. Shouto walked with the Dragon Keeper towards it, and he stepped through with a nod towards the keeper as he lifted the tent flap for him.

"Good luck with your arm dude!" The Dragon Keeper called to him, before walking back towards the stadium.

Shouto turned and observed the inside of the medical tent.

The far wall had an examination bench, with boxes of bandages and healing salves stacked next to it. On the right and left wall were two beds on each side, one for every champion. The ends of the bed each faced the inside of the tent, and formed something akin to a walkway down towards the examination table. Next to the examination table, on a smaller stand, was a brewing cauldron.

Midoriya was asleep with his arm and head bandaged in one of the beds on the right, his own golden egg sitting on the nightstand.

An old hunched over woman was stirring the cauldron, and Shouto presumed she was the nurse. She turned when he walked in, and she gave him a once over glance, before beckoning him over.

"Todoroki I suspect?" She asked as he walked towards her, and at his nod she hummed sagely. "Thought so, I'm Madame Recovery. Head Nurse at Hogwarts. You can put your egg over there-" she pointed at the bed across from Midoriya's, "and then come over, take off your sleeve covering the arm, and let me look at it."

Shouto did as he was told, gentle putting the egg down on the white sheets of the bed, before going to her and carefully unbuttoning and gingerly pulling his arm out of his uniform. Madame Recovery tut tutted as she examined the arm.

"Got crushed, didn't it?" She asked, and Shouto nodded.

"Yes, by a piece of rock."

She clicked her tongue, pulled out her wand, and started running it over his arm, examining it.

Shouto stood still as she worked, and it wasn't until about two minutes later when someone pushed the tent flap open that he moved to look.

Madame Recovery didn't turn, but she must know who it was, as she called out to the person the same time as Shouto turned to look.

"There you are Yaoyorozu! I was worried you'd been to swept up in the crowd or excitement to remember to come help." Madame Recovery chuckled, and Shouto was interested when he saw the person who just walked in, was none other than Ponytail Ravenclaw- or Yaoyorozu, as her name seemed to be.

Yaoyorozu chuckled sheepishly, brushing some of her bangs back behind her ear as she walked towards them.

"Sorry for being late Madame Recovery, but the hallways were crowded with people this time as they got up to stretch their legs before the judging, so it took longer to make my way through."

Finished with the examination, Madame Recovery put her wand back in her pocket, and went over to stir the potion again.

"Well, I suppose it's good you were able to make it here at all! Now, I need some bandages from the boxes, some simple salve for bruises, and one for cuts as well. Todoroki here got almost as injured as Midoriya."

Yaoyorozu gave him a look of sympathy as she walked past him to the pile of boxes. He turned to keep looking at her while she rummaged and talked.

"I know! It was just as nerve inducing to watch his task as it was Midoriya's!" Shouto leaned against the bed with the egg on it, and brought it up with his left and started examining it. His right arm was starting to go numb but he assumed it was an after effect of what Madame Recovery had done.

Sprinkling some fine brown powder into the potion, Madame Recovery asked Yaoyorozu to fill her in on what happened, which Yaoyorozu gave her a summary of. Shouto only half listened at first, but soon started listening fully once he realized what a detailed recount she was giving. She had obviously observed the task more than most, and Shouto found her talking through what he did to be quite useful at critiquing himself. She also critiqued him slightly, which she grew oddly flustered about and apologized for saying what she did, which confused Shouto as he had found her critique to be quite insightful and true. When he told her that, she had just blushed and brushed it off, saying anyone could have seen what she did. Shouto had to disagree with her, he had to train himself incredibly hard to notice details like she was, and it almost seemed natural for her. A talent, his sister would say.

As she finished explaining, Yaoyorozu stood up, balancing the requested materials in her arms. She carefully placed them on the exam table.

"Okay Madame Recovery, what else would you like me to do?" Yaoyorozu asked, and Madame Recovery turned off the flames beneath the cauldron and turned to look at her, hands clasped behind her back.

"Treat Todoroki's bruises and cuts please, and in five minutes give him about a half flasks worth of potion then cast his arm." She shuffled towards the tents opening as Yaoyorozu nodded. "I'm going to go look around a bit." And then the old woman was gone.

Leaving Shouto and Momo alone in the tent- along with the snoring Midoriya.

Yaoyorozu turned briskly to the exam table and picked up the cut salve first, instructing him over her shoulder as she did so.

"Please sit down on the bed and expose all the cuts on your arms, so I can start this settling."

Todoroki did as he was told, deciding to just remove his left arm from the sleeve to allow her to see and heal easier, leaving him with his shirt around his waist and his top exposed. Momo turned, stopping for a second when she saw him completely bare-chested, her cheeks warming as her eyes flittered down to his abdomen for half a second, before she shook herself and went to work. Rubbing the salve into the cuts just as she had been taught. She did so for almost a full minute before either of them spoke. Momo had gotten to absorbed in making sure she did it correctly, that she forgot just who she was treating.

"You're Midoriya's friend, aren't you? He waved at you in the Entrance Hall before the task, didn't he?" Todoroki inquired suddenly, and Momo felt her cheeks start to pink at the direct attention he was giving her, but she forced herself to concentrate on replying more than whatever was reddening her cheeks.

"Yes, I am Midoriya's friend, I've known him for five years now." She paused, one hand holding the bottle of salve while the other was placed on his left arm and treating a particularly bad cut, to give him a friendly smile. "I'm Momo Yaoyorozu, sixth year Ravenclaw and Madame Recovery's apprentice." She then continued work, rubbing the salve carefully into the cut so the magic in it could fully heal it. Todoroki tilted his head to the side, watching her without realizing he was.

"Shouto Todoroki." He introduced himself, despite knowing she already knew that. Momo gave him another polite smile.

"Nice to meet you Todoroki." He only nodded in return, shifting his gaze towards the golden egg on his right.

Silence fell between them as Momo covered all his cuts, and then moved onto the bruises. Todoroki soon put his eyes back on her and continued staring at her. He couldn't shake the feeling that he'd seen her before, and that it was important enough of a moment that not remembering it was bothering him.

"Do you know the other champion as well?"

Momo made a sort of vague shrug in response.

"Kind of, Bakugou is in my friend group through mutual friends, but personally I do not know him well." Momo stated, slathering a healthy amount of salve onto his shoulder. "He's… a unique person." Todoroki had to agree, from what he had seen from Bakugou, he was quite the interesting character.

They feel into silence again for maybe another two minutes, before Momo finished the bruises and turned, screwing the lid back on and setting it on the table.

"I have to say, I can't wait to see your score. It will definitely be one of the higher ones!" Momo told him over her shoulder, as she found a flask. Todoroki raised an eyebrow, leaning against his slowly healing left arm.

"Why do you think that?"

Momo started pouring half a bottle of Potion into the flask, carefully aiming so she did not spill. The liquid potion let out steam as she poured, and Todoroki realized it was a homemade batch of Skele-Gro.

"Well, you were the one who displayed the most quick thinking skills, and cast the widest variety of spells." She stated, filling the flask, and turned back to Todoroki, saying as she walked, "Plus, you saved the dragon eggs, that should be added points in your favor."

She reached him, and he accepted the flask she offered to him. Bringing it up to his nose, he smelled the familiar scent of Skele-Gro, having had to take it multiple times in his life, especially his youth.

"Drink this Skele-Gro please, it will be rather unpleasant on the way down," she told him professionally, as she turned back to the boxes. "and the feeling of your bones repairing will be uncomfortable."

"I know." Todoroki said, his voice a little colder as all the past times he had to drink it flashed through his mind. He threw those thoughts out of his head, and downed the Skele-Gro in one gulp. Looking over her shoulder, Momo frowned a little at his words.

"Have you had it before?" Momo asked, waving her wand this time, and summoning the materials she needed for the sling. Todoroki grimaced, the burning in his throat intensifying as the potion made it into his stomach. Not feeling like answering, he just nodded at Momo's question.

Momo caught all the materials, and brought them back to the bed he was sitting on.

"Would you prefer if you put your shirt back on before I sling it?" She asked, and Todoroki nodded, slipping his shirt back from around his waist and back onto his left arm and torso. Momo helped him put his right arm in, and with help he was able to get it in much quicker. His right hand felt oddly sparky as Momo grabbed it briefly to gently pull through, but Todoroki just assumed it had something to do with the Skele-Gro beginning to take effect.

Now fully clothed again, Todoroki moved slightly so she had a better position to work on his arm, and Momo tucked her bangs behind her ear before she started.

Silence reigned again as Momo carefully slung his arm, not noticing how close they were as she was to focused.

Shouto found himself noticing though.

She was standing directly in front of him, her legs brushing against his right pant leg at certain points as she worked, and Shouto noticed every time it happened despite her not. Even though that part of her leg that touched his, was the small sliver of skin between her knee high socks and skirt that was uncovered and his was covered with his uniform pants.

Her bangs kept falling into her face, and every time she brushed them back he had a crystal clear view of her onyx eyes, and strangely he also noted her lower lashes were quite long at corner of her eye. The feeling that he had seen those onyx eye's before grew inside him, and the botherom somewhere yet again appeared, badgering at his brain to try and remember.

Before he could remember, Momo was done.

His neck tingled as her fingers grazed against it, tying the knot for the sling and checking to make sure everything was secure.

It was then she noticed how close she was, her body having moved forward to double check everything, so now her face was very close to his chin. Her eyes snapped up to look at his as she stepped back, her cheeks a nice rosy shade as she saw that he had been looking at her.

"A-apologizes, I hadn't realized I was so close." Momo turned and busied herself cleaning off the exam table as she apologized, internally telling herself off as she did so. Behind her, Todoroki raised an eyebrow, moving so he was leaning against the headrest of the bed, facing towards her, and bringing his feet to rest on the bed.

"Don't worry about it." Todoroki told her, as the flap to the tent opened and Madame Recovery walked back in.

"Ah good, he's all bandaged up." She came over to Shouto and inspected his arm, nodding in satisfaction. "Impeccable work as always Yaoyorozu!" She praised, and Momo blushed.

"Thank you, Madame Recovery, your opinion means a lot!" Momo said, folding her hands in front of her and bowing forward slightly, so her ponytail fell around her head. Madame Recovery waved for her to stand back up.

"Oho dearie you deserve all the positive opinions! I do hope you decide to pursue Healing as a career, the community would benefit greatly having your intelligence in its midst!" Momo stood straight, and gave Madame Recovery a polite smile.

"I fear your faith in my intelligence is not well placed, I haven't done anything particularly to gain your praise, just do what anyone else could."

Madame Recovery made a noise of disbelief, turning and giving Todoroki an eyebrow raised look, gesturing to Momo.

"Can you believe this girl Todoroki?" Shouto, unprepared to be in this conversation, was unsure how to answer that, but was saved to by Madame Recovery continuing, still addressing him. "She has some of the highest grades this school has ever seen, yet says stuff like that all the time!" That rung a bell in Shouto's head, he vaguely remembered hearing that somewhere before, but couldn't quite place where it had been. Though he was sure it happened in the Great Hall.

Shouto was unsurprised to hear Yaoyorozu had good grades, with how knowledgeable she was in retelling his task, it seemed natural for her to be one of the brightest students at Hogwarts.

"I can believe she has good grades, she seems very intelligent." Shouto stated, glancing at Yaoyorozu briefly, before deciding to concentrate on the details etched into the Golden Egg.

"Ha!" Madame Recovery exclaimed, thumping her walking stick on the ground as she turned to face the red faced Momo. "See? Todoroki's only known you for about twenty minutes, and he's already picked up on how smart you are!" Momo nodded numbly, staring at anything but Todoroki, embarrassed.

"Anyway," Madame Recovery started, turning back to Todoroki. "They're ready to give you your score, so I'll accompany you if you're ready." Shouto immediately got off the bed, swinging his legs back onto the floor and standing up, tucking the golden egg under his arm and following Madame Recovery out of the tent. "Stay behind with Midoriya, please Yaoyorozu!"

Yaoyorozu nodded, following behind them and standing at the opening.

"I will, please tell me what scores he got when you get back!" She called out to them, and Shouto turned to look over his shoulder at her, the setting sun making it harder to make her out.

Their eyes met, and after a pause, Yaoyorozu raised her hand and waved at him.

And Shouto remembered.

He had heard about a "Yaomomo's" grades as he walked past the Ravenclaw table the day the goblet was placed, and Yaomomo must just be a nickname combining her last and first name. That same day, he had looked past his father and saw onyx eyes being raised up by a staircase and out of sight- the same onyx eyes, that he had seen in the dim light the first night at Hogwarts.

The eyes, of the girl that had waved at him.

As he raised his own hand to give an awkward wave back, just like he had done that first night, Shouto's heart gave a weird thump, as he realized that Momo Yaoyorozu was that girl.

The girl he had been thinking about for weeks.


	5. Chapter 5

"So, what was he like?"

Mina whispered excitedly to Momo almost as soon as Professor Aizawa stopped talking and rolled into his sleeping bag. Momo frowned slightly as she read through the page of the potion they were set to make, Mina already setting her cauldron to the correct temperature next to her. Across the table, Kaminari and Iida were sitting flipping through their potion books, both reading the instructions with varying degrees of understanding.

"Who?" Momo questioned as she filled her cauldron up with water from her wand. She realized who Mina was talking about though the moment before Mina clarified.

"The Durmstrang Champion!" Mina exclaimed in a hushed voice, "Mr. Looks like he walked out of a romance novel! You met him, right? After the first task?" Momo nodded as they both stood up to retrieve ingredients from the cupboard, and Mina excitedly waved her hands and giggled, giddy for some reason. She did refrain from asking anymore questions till they were back seated and out of other people's way, but Mina talked the moment Momo's skirt touched the bench.

"So?! Don't hold back on me, what was he like?!" Mina asked excitedly, measuring out a bag of pixie dust.

"Well," Momo started, her voice modest as she poured the measurement of pixie dust into the cauldron and started it simmering, unsure exactly how to describe Todoroki. "He wasn't the most talkative, but he wasn't rude. And he was quite accommodating to listening to what I said and doing it. A good patient, and a very talented wizard." She paused in talking for a moment, to concentrate fully on combining beetle paste, crushed spider legs, and bat venom together and pouring the mixture in with the pixie dust, continuing when she was done, having finished with the first part of the potion and now just having to stir it. Momo excitedly recalled the thrill of watching him in the first task, and couldn't stop herself from switching the subject to talk about it, as Mina squeezed a drop of bat venom into her cauldron, potion book closed and winging it as always.

"Watching him in the first task was quite insightful, wasn't it?" Momo asked, her eyes lighting up. "He used some particularly complex spells as if they were nothing, such as the glaciatus spell and a confined stinging hex! And his excellent evasion of the dragon and perfect timing at firing spells show he has very good reflexes and quick judgement, he must have spent hours practicing ever since he joined Durmstrang to become that proficient!" Momo was brimming with interest, her mind going through all possible books he could have read to come up with that strategy. "Do you think he would tell me what book he learned the Glaciatus spell from? It might come in handy to know a strong spell like that."

Mina shrugged, her potion the exact same shade as Momo's despite her not following the recipe, but that wasn't too surprising. After knowing Mina for 5 years, Momo had come to accept that Mina had a talent for potions that just couldn't be taught in books, even if it was frustrating sometimes to just see her toss things in when they aren't supposed to because she "felt like it belonged in her potion".

"I don't know, you're the one who met him you'd know more than me!" Mina stuck her tongue out and winked jokingly, but then she had an idea and she gasped loudly, dropping her ladle into her potion as she clapped her hands to her face. "You think he'll talk to you again?!" Momo shrugged, keeping her eyes on her potion as she stirred.

"I… I don't know… maybe he will. I was talking more in the situation of me going up to him and asking politely if I could learn the spell… But now I'm not sure anymore if I should do that, he might see it as weird, we didn't really talk much anyway…" She placed her non-stirring hand on her cheek as she contemplated, staring into the boiling turquoise.

Mina wasn't listening.

"Do you… do you think you could introduce me to him!" Mina squealed her face shining as she excitedly bounced. Momo laughed uneasily, a little unsure how exactly she should answer. She truthfully doubted Todoroki would go out of his way to talk to her, and if she went up and talked to him, he might consider it pretentious that she just assumes she can talk to him now.

But before Momo could answer, a grumpy voice cut across her, sharp and tired, and it made both girls jump. Mina bounced the bench a little as she leapt into the air and then crashed down.

"Introduce yourself to paying attention to what you're doing Ashido, I can smell your potion burning from in here." Professor Aizawa grumbled from his sleeping bag, and Mina quickly summoned her ladle out of the burning potion, and they stopped talking after that, instead focusing on their potions more seriously.

Momo felt weird as she looked at the now light blue potion, the color reminding her of something she couldn't quite place, but whatever it was, it made her heart beat abnormally.

Exiting the dungeon classroom, Momo wasn't surprised when Mina linked their arms together and started pulling her faster up the stairs.

"Come on Momo, let's continue our conversation with the other girls! They're just as excited to hear what happened as I am!" Momo sighed, not sure why her friends were so interested in knowing what happened when she met Todoroki, considering nothing happened.

But she knew better than to argue with Mina, and so matched her pace and walked with her up the stairs and into the Entrance Hall.

Spotting their Gryffindor friends, Mina called them over with a shout and a wave. Seeing her, Kyouka and Ochako conversed with the others for a second, before running over to join them. Behind them, Kirishima, Midoriya, and Tsuyu waved, before Kirishima walked with Bakugou somewhere, with Kaminari and Sero running to join them. Iida and Tsuyu went to enjoy the break with Midoriya in the library, Iida having apologized to Midoriya after the second task and the both of them back on good terms.

As Kyouka and Ochako reached them, Mina excitedly informed them about what they were going to talk about like it was juicy gossip.

"Guys! Yaomomo's gonna tell us about meeting the Durmstrang Champion! Come on we gotta hurry quick if we want to hear all of it during the break!"

Ochako clapped her hands together excitedly, and she grabbed Momo's other arm, and Kyouka hooked through hers, and they all walked into the courtyard.

As soon as their feet touched the grass, the questions began.

Ochako started, skipping a little towards their usual tree, across the grounds next to the lake.

"So Yaomomo! Tell us, what was he like? Is he as brooding as he looks?"

Instinctively, Momo shook her head.

"No, he wasn't, he was quite polite actually. When told to do something he accommodated, and when he talked he wasn't exactly talkative or expressive, but he wasn't brooding. At least," Momo corrected modestly, realizing she was stating facts about Todoroki she didn't know for sure. "that is what he seemed to me. But I did only meet him for twenty minutes' tops, and that's not a lot of time to get to know someone."

Mina giggled loudly, and a group of second year Slytherins turned to stare at her.

"Twenty minutes with _HIM_ though!"

Kyouka rolled her eyes, and Ochako giggled behind her hands. Momo smiled good naturedly, shaking her head with a patient sigh.

Reaching their usual shade under an old, tall spruce tree near the shore of the lake, they all sat down on the grass, facing away from the Durmstrang ship.

Plopping down with an oof, Mina stretched her arms into the sky.

I'm so jealous Yaomomo! You get to meet so many interesting people through your apprentice ship! I mean he's the handsomest guy I've ever seen! And I've seen many an attractive guy, so I'm a good judge!"

Momo laughed at Mina's joking words. Sitting down next to her, she folded her legs to the side as she leaned comfortably on her hand. Ochako sat crossed legged next to Mina, and Kyouka sat normally on the grass next to Momo, the two of them forming a slight U as they were turned more towards the other two girls. The wind was a nice breeze today, and it blew through their hair in pleasant waves.

"I wouldn't say that Mina, it's all professional. I'm not exactly meeting them like you think I am."

Mina let her arms fall and relaxed on her palms, rolling her neck as Kyouka decided to enter the conversation, pulling strands of grass idly as she did so.

"What does that mean exactly? Meeting someone is meeting someone, even if it's not in a typical situation, isn't it?" Momo sat up a little more at Kyouka's question, straightening her skirt as she did so, eager to have this conversation and what potential topics it could lead to.

"It depends, in most situations yes- meeting someone is meeting someone- but when you're in the Healers' field it's a little different. In most cases, the new person you are meeting is in either pain, extreme discomfort, cursed, or if you're lucky, just has a common cold. All of those aren't exactly situations where meeting new people is forefront in the moment, usually the focus is on helping the person with whatever immediate healing they need." Momo set her book bag in front of her, laying on a little pleat of her skirt. Ochako had pulled out her wand almost as soon as they sat down, and was making small rocks fly as she listened to everyone else. "Of course, if a patient is in healing for longer than one appointment, then it's more likely to meet them as a person to another person, and not as healer to patient."

Kyouka hummed in acknowledgement, her expression impressed.

"Huh, that does make sense. I hadn't thought of that."

"It's actually not something a lot of people think about, and Madame Recovery has told me-"

Mina held up her hands, waving them in a crossing motion, her face serious.

"Whoa whoa wait! Before we get into this conversation, I have some more questions Handsome!" Mina interjected, and Momo shrugged, not surprised Mina had more questions.

Half getting up, so she was on her knees, Mina placed her fists on her hips and put her chin in the air.

"You never answered my questions from the classroom anyway, so they should have been prioritized first!

Momo raised her eyebrows, pulling at a loose strand on her robe sleeve.

"To be honest Mina, I completely forgot you asked me questions in class." She shifted slightly. "… what were your questions again? And honestly, I don't understand why you guys think I know so much about him…"

Mina ignored the last part, and instead sighed and rolled her eyes in an over exaggerated manner as she re-asked her questions.

"I asked if you thought he was going to talk to you again, and if you could introduce me!"

Oh, right.

Ochako perked up at Mina's question, the two rocks she had been floating falling back down as she lost her focus on them. Moving with her wand in her fist, Ochako faced towards Momo completely.

"Ooh good question Mina!"

"The first question's a good question, but did you really need to ask the second one?" Kyouka asked, looking at Mina pointedly and folding her arms. Mina nodded fervently.

"Yes! The second question is a crucial one! … I'll admit it's probably only crucial to me, but that's still crucial to somebody!"

Momo laughed a little, bringing up her hands and waving them slightly.

"I don't mind the second question Mina! But, I'm sorry to say that I probably won't be able to introduce you to him." She dropped her hands, and her eyes soon followed their path and looked towards the ground, a small smile on her lips, eyes slightly fogged. "Truthfully, the chance of me talking to him again is highly unlikely. I was just doing my job when we met, and I highly doubt I did anything noteworthy to gain Todoroki's attention like you all seem to think I did. Like I've said he wasn't talkative, and I was focusing on healing him, so we barely talked and my healing skills aren't that good yet to gain attention. I didn't do anything comparable to fighting a dragon, that's for sure, and since it happened right after I'm sure his mind was filled with other, more useful things then remembering the girl who bandaged his arm. And even if he does remember me, I doubt it's enough for him to come over and talk to me. I'm… sure he won't even remember me in a few months." Momo felt a weird ball of- she supposed sadness- weight in her stomach, but she wasn't sure exactly why.

Looking up at her friends, Momo felt a jolt when she realized they all looked guilty, and she immediately wanted to reassure them it wasn't their fault- for whatever it was they felt guilty about.

"Oh! Um-" Momo racked her brain, flying through all possible ways to bring the mood back up. But, before could think of anything to say-

"Yaoyorozu?"

A deep, male voice called from behind them, and the girls all turned as one to whip around and look, except Ochako, who let out a loud gasp and clapped her hands over her mouth, wand still in hand.

Momo's eyes widened, and Mina shot up into a standing position, as their eyes landed on none other than Shouto Todoroki. He was standing there in the usual Durmstrang uniform, his fur lined cloak missing and his hair blowing ever so slightly in the wind.

"Oh!" Momo started, standing up in haste and straightening her clothes. "Todoroki, g-good morning!" She nodded her head slightly, and he returned it as Kyouka and Ochako stood up as well, Mina staring at Todoroki with large eyes and pink cheeks.

He glanced briefly about at her friends, and Momo quickly went into introductions.

"Oh, Todoroki, these are my friends-" She gestured at each of them in turn when she said their name. "This is Kyouka Jirou-" Kyouka threw up a peace sign and gave Todoroki a nod. "Ochako Uraraka, she and Kyouka are in Gryffindor-" Ochako waved cheerfully, a weirdly wide smile on her face as she looked from him to Momo with glittering eyes. "and this is Mina Ashido!"

Todoroki took one look at Mina, and a vague look of recognition entered his eyes.

"You're the Hufflepuff who wolf whistled." He said, and Mina's face erupted in a blush. Ochako clapped her hands over her mouth and tried to stifle the giggling that rushed out of her, and Kyouka actually snorted. Momo bite her lip, keeping her own laughter in as Mina stammered awkwardly.

"Y-yeah. That was me HAHAH, I- UH, like- wolf whistling at people!"

Todoroki tilted his head to the side, giving her a blandish look.

"Really? You do it often?"

As one, Momo, Ochako, and Kyouka all turned to Mina, waiting to see how she'll answer. Momo desperately wanted to help get her out of this awkward situation, but she wasn't sure how without embarrassing Mina more in front of Todoroki.

Mina made a vague, non-committal, gesture as she looked around wildly, to trying to think of a way to get out of this lie she was creating. Spotting a certain red head, walking onto the grounds, Mina decided right then and there that she was not going to cover up this lie, no.

She was going to commit to her new wolf whistling life full throttle.

Cupping her hands around her mouth, Mina wolf whistled loudly, catching the attention of almost everyone on the grounds, including professor Ryukyu and her current dragon hatchling as she taught a fourth-year class.

Kirishima turned alongside everyone else, towards Mina but his face flushed bright as Mina winked, obviously and directly at him.

Ochako broke, the sight of Kirishima sputtering with face almost matching his hair was too much, and laughter poured out of her loudly as she doubled over, snorting occasionally.

Kyouka, snorting, took it upon herself to save both of her friends from further embarrassment, moved quickly and grabbed them both by the arm and started dragging them away, calling over her shoulder as she did so.

"Excuse us, we'll be over here!"

Momo finally broke herself and chuckled, hiding behind her hand, she turned back to Todoroki, smiling.

"My friends are rather… rambunctious, apologies if they startled you." Todoroki shrugged, his dual colored eyes turning from her retreating friends back to her.

"It's fine."

Momo nodded, realizing for the first time that she was now alone with Todoroki. She awkwardly held her hands in front of her, too aware of her own body and how it might look, and she felt strangely self-conscious.

Todoroki didn't seem to have a problem being alone with her, and after a beat of silence, he continued talking again.

"I came over here Yaoyorozu, to ask if you would tell me how the other champions completed the first task."

Momo blinked at him, hand frozen for a moment in the motion of pushing her bangs back, before she blinked again and let it drop as she spoke.

"A-alright, I can certainly tell you… but may I ask why you chose me? Didn't your Headmaster and other students see the task as well, and would be more trustworthy to ask for opinion then me?" He tilted his head, silk hair falling ever so slightly into his eyes, which retained their bored expression though Momo thought for a moment she saw something flash through them at the mention of the headmaster.

"Yes, they did see. But I would prefer if you told me. You were able to recall my task so well, I had hope you remembered the others just as vividly." Momo felt her face flush, and Todoroki straightened his head again. "But of course, if you'd rather not tell me that's fine. We are from rival schools after all, and helping me would be helping the enemy."

Her onyx eyes widened, and while raising her hands to aid in her hasty rectification, she also forced down the growing blush, and she shook her head, ponytail whipping around her.

"Oh no, I don't mind! I don't think of you as someone from a rival school, so I'll be happy to tell you! I was just wondering your reason for choosing me, that is all."

Todoroki folded his arms and nodded in thanks, shifting his feet slightly.

"Thank you."

Momo smiled, picking up her school bag from the ground and slinging it over her shoulder, not wanting it to get stained from the grass.

"No problem! is there a particular champion you'd like to hear how their task went?"

"Yes. How did Bakugou finish his so quickly?"

Momo straightened, her mind immediately replaying the details of Bakugou's task, which she started relaying to Todoroki.

"Ah, Bakugou's task was quite interesting to watch, and not to be biased but quite entertaining as well." Momo shifted, positioning her bag more comfortable on her shoulder while Todoroki leaned against the trunk of the spruce tree. "You see, it was… very Bakugou. I don't know how much you've been able to see of his personality, but it's rather… er-"

"Angry." Todoroki supplied, and Momo nodded, accepting it as a good vocabulary for describing Bakugou.

"Angry, yes that's a good word to describe it, thank you." She sent him a quick smile before continuing, tucking her bangs behind her ear. "Due to his personality, I was sure he would aim to fight the dragon or at least face it in some way and refrain from skirting around it, as was the other champions main tactics. When he walked into the stadium and his time started, it seemed like that was the route he was going to take, as he ran towards his dragon and made a lot of noise: shouting, blasting spells into the air, foul language- usual Bakugou things- and it immediately attracted the Horntails attention. He ran towards the cliff like structure- near the far end from where you entered, but Bakugou entered about 200 feet to the left of it- and once he arrived, he stood there, maybe seventy feet from the overhanging cliff. He kept shouting as the dragon started running towards him, it paused for a moment to consider if he was worth chasing after, but once it started running, Bakugou's face split into his trademark grin- which" Momo fumbled, "you probably don't know, but um, it's rather… fierce."

Todoroki hummed slightly to show he understood, and he gestured for her to continue while glancing over his shoulder towards the Durmstrang ship, his eyes narrowing slightly as a flaming head of hair was visible on the decks. He opted to turn back to Momo then keep watching the ship however, and he was glad he did, as her eyes had become peculiarly glittery from excitement and she perked up, obviously interested the most in the next detail.

"Anyway; Bakugou gets the Horntail to run at him, and as it's charging towards him, he still stands there perfectly still. The only thing moving was his hand tightening around his wand- I saw that through my Omni-oculars- but he didn't show any other signs of outward movement so as not to distract the Horntail from its charge. Right as the Horntail's head goes under the cliff, Bakugou sends a Bombarda Maxima spell at the cliff- toppling it onto the dragon's head and trapping it."

"Ah," Todoroki interrupted, realization on his face. "That was the large explosion, and it explains why he was able to finish so quickly- he trapped his dragon so acquiring the egg was easier." Momo confirmed with a firm nod, and Todoroki again signaled for her to continue.

"After trapping the dragon, I thought he was going to run up and grab the egg- But… instead Bakugou summoned the egg to him. At first, I thought it was a rather rash move, since I thought for sure the judges would have put anti summoning charms on the egg to prevent such things from happening, but as you know from your task, the egg is easily summoned."

Todoroki was thoughtful, his hand on his chin.

"Truthfully, I never considered the fact that I would have been able to summon the egg from the beginning until now. I had bee-" He stopped, and when he started again his voice was much more careful. "I… assumed same as you it couldn't be summoned, I attempted summoning from desperation in the moment, and hadn't put much consideration into it working."

"Midoriya hadn't considered it either, and when I told him, he hit himself quite hard on the head with a notebook shouting "OF COURSE!". You two shouldn't feel too bad however, Beuxbaton Champion Monoma hadn't thought of it either. Bakugou might not act like it, but he has the third highest grade in our year- so if I were to be honest I'm not surprised he was able to figure out such an abstract solution by doing what everyone assumed was impossible and proving it as possible." Momo's face then turned into a grimace, and Todoroki raised an eyebrow. "He also insulted the judges and organizers by saying they were… dip-something- for not actually putting an anti-summoning charm on the egg. And then when his time was announced, he shouted at us in the crowd to "Take those five minutes and shove it somewhere unpleasant". I'm paraphrasing of course, he's language was much fouler. But, despite his foul language it's quite clear why he got the highest score."

A blaze suddenly burned in Momo's eyes, and she took a half step forward, a frown on her face.

"I still think you should have gotten higher points! Tying with Midoriya when you showed a wider variety of spells and quick thinking is truly unfair on your part!"

A scowl settled onto Todoroki's face.

"Yes well, my father thought otherwise clearly. He gave me the lowest score out of the judges after all, so I can only assume his points were the deciding factor in me tying with Midoriya."

Folding her arms, Momo's frown deepened.

"Why did he even give you a low score? Is he so critical-" Momo's voice was drowned out, by a magically enhanced voice hollering from across the grounds.

"SHOUTO, BREAKS OVER COME BACK TO THE SHIP." Endeavor's voice boomed, and Todoroki turned while Momo jumped slightly, both of their hands flying to their wands out of instinct.

Todoroki's scowl was blistering, and when he turned back to face Momo, she was a little taken aback by the intensity of it, despite him obviously toning it down while looking at her.

"It seems I must go now. Thank you for taking the time to explain Bakugou's task to me." He gave a short bow, and Momo returned it.

"Please, no need for thanks, I enjoy explaining things to people so truly it wasn't a bother. Perhaps another time I can tell you about Izuku and Monoma- Though you can of course, always ask Midoriya for details as well! He'd give as much of a clear explanation as mine!"

Todoroki nodded, turning halfway away from her, his face now back to being passive.

"I shall consider that. Thank you again."

Momo gave a little wave towards his back as he started walking away, and she found herself staring at his retreating form for longer than normal- a strange feeling of not wanting him to leave clouding the tips of her mind.

Shaking herself a little, Momo turned halfway towards where Kyouka had dragged Mina and Ochako, towards Bakugou, Kaminari, and the still blushing and utterly confused Kirishima, but Todoroki called out to her.

"Another thing, Yaoyorozu." Turning back, Momo gave him a questioning smile.

"Yes Todoroki?"

Todoroki was facing her, a curious expression on his face that Momo couldn't place, but there was an almost… hesitant feel about him.

"Yaoyorozu… if you don't mind me asking, you said before that you don't think of me as someone from a rival school…" his eyes seemed to pierce into hers as he looked directly into them, and Momo felt her legs grow weak for a reason she couldn't quite place. His voice was steady, as deep as ever, and his eyes never left hers as he finished speaking. "What do you think of me then?"

The wind rustled through Momo's ponytail as she digested the question, and her eyelids fluttered as she diverted her eyes from his.

Todoroki's eyes never left her face however, and she could feel his intense gaze as her cheeks started reddening again.

What did she think of him?

She knew him mostly as the Durmstrang Champion, but… she also in a way knew him before that. Truthfully, the first thing that sprouted in her head when she thought of him, was that night on the lake shore, where she waved at him and he waved back.

Chewing her bottom lip slightly, Momo realized that yes, that was what she thought of him.

He wasn't the Durmstrang Champion in her mind.

He was the boy on the deck.

Endeavor shouted again, his voice more irritated now, and Todoroki shot a narrow-eyed look over his shoulder, before facing back towards Momo and nodding his head to her.

"Forget I asked Yaoyorozu, I need to go anyway so don't pressure yourself into answering." He started walking towards the Durmstrang ship, and hearing his footsteps Momo snapped her head to face his retreating back, and without thinking-

"The boy who waved at me on the deck!" Momo blurted, face reddening as he turned and looked at her sharply, his eyes widening in surprise at her words.

"What?" He asked, though it seemed to be he was asking for confirmation to what he just heard more than not sure what she said.

Taking a quick breath, Momo smiled warmly at him, the breeze stirring both of their hair gently, and leaves from a nearby oak flew past on the wind.

"I… I think of you as the boy who waved at me on the deck."

Todoroki, eyes still showing surprise, nodded at her again, and at another shout from the bellowing Endeavor, he turned and started walking away, and after a moment Momo went off as well, towards her friends.

As she walked up to Mina awkwardly standing next to Kirishima, Kyouka rolling her eyes at a still hunched over laughing forms of Ochako and Kaminari, and Bakugou ignoring them all in favor of scratching Professor Ryukyu's Norwegian Ridgeback on the chin, Momo's heart couldn't help but give a little leap.

And unbeknownst to her, Todoroki's did to.


	6. Library Chatter

The library was busier then it usually was on weekends, and Izuku was grateful he had been able to grab a seat before the rush of students in the afternoon. He had found himself in a secluded corner behind the rows of bookcases, in a distant enough corner that he was away from everyone else. Now, he was surrounded by books, and he had been scanning through two of them for the past thirty minutes, rapidly switching between the pages. He was muttering quietly to himself, scribbling any important details he thought were helpful in uncovering the mysteries of the Golden Egg. It was still nestled up in his room, shoved into his trunk where it couldn't accidently crack open and start pulsating that horrid screeching.

He shuffled through page after page, blocking out the quiet babble going on around him as he peered through the pages of "High Sounds and The Creatures that Make Them" and another book. He was still utterly confused as to what the screaming of the egg could be, and even though the next task wasn't until January, he wanted to have as much time to plan as possible.

His concentration was broken, as a loud giggle came from near the entrance of the library as the glass double doors swung open and someone walked in. Looking up, Izuku leaned backwards slightly to see past some book stacked on his desk- and was almost not surprised when he saw Todoroki walking in, red uniform standing out against the neutral colors of the shelves around him. A third year Slytherin was covering her mouth, standing next to Nighteye's desk with a stack of books in her other hand and a glowing red face.

As Todoroki walked into one of the rows, the third year scampered off, but he didn't seem to notice her as he was to busy looking at a sheet of parchment in his hand.

Izuku returned to his books, glancing up occasionally to see what the fellow champion was doing out of curiosity. Izuku had thought he would be the only champion preparing this early for the task- he was always the type to start assignments early to give enough time to do as much research as possible.

Though, perhaps Todoroki wasn't preparing for the task and was just here to check out books- it would be the more likely reason, seeing as none of the other champions had been in the library to research. At least, they hadn't in all the times Izuku had.

A few minutes later, Todoroki was back in view and carrying small pile of books in his hands, all varying in size and volume. Judging by his glancing thoughtfully around the room and seeming disregard for the check out desk, he was looking for a table to sit.

A group of Gryffindor's seemed to notice this, and they were discussing among themselves about whether they should call out to him and offer their table, but it seemed to be split- as three of them wanted to while the other three were against it- gesturing wildly to the books on the table. Reminding the others that they had homework to do.

Without thinking, Izuku realized his hand was in the air, catching the attention of Todoroki and the Gryffindor's. Todoroki considered for a moment- glancing around the room for other table options, but all the other tables were pretty full- before walking forwards to Izuku. The three Gryffindor's looked rather grumpy, but they solemnly seemed to agree that it was more interesting to see two champions interacting.

As he neared, Izuku waved slightly, internally freaking out as he had no idea what he would do now that Todoroki would be sitting with him.

Todoroki nodded in response to the wave, nearing the table and sitting his books down on the table across form Izuku.

"M-morning." Izuku greeted unsurely, feeling the awkwardness settle in as he remembered exactly how their last meeting had went.

It had been… rather awkward in Izuku's opinion.

Asking someone about their blood was rather… taboo, and Midoriya had done it rather suddenly and without warning, and even though Todoroki had acted fine with it, Izuku was sure there would be some awkwardness stemming from that encounter.

Sure enough, Todoroki gave him the briefest of good mornings in return, and then they fell into silence.

It enveloped them, and Izuku become even more aware of each sound the pages made as they turned, and each "plop" noise the ink made as the quill was placed in it, and mostly he was aware of how much talking was happening at the other tables as they looked at the two champions.

He realized that people would be expecting them to interact, they were rivals- school champions who were tied for second place at this moment with Bakugou gloatingly being above them in first place and Monoma sourly simmering below in third. They had both gotten 9, 7, and 8 points from everyone except Endeavor, who had given both four. He had given Bakugou a 5, putting him in the lead. (Monoma had gotten a 3.) Izuku hadn't thought about what others would think when he called Todoroki over, and he was now starting to regret it. He was having a hard-enough time finding hints towards the egg, and now with people flocking to the library, probably attracted by Todoroki's Veela magic, it was getting even more difficult to concentrate.

Todoroki was reading a book about magical creatures, same as Izuku. Izuku supposed he was right then, Todoroki was here to study for the next task.

Feeling a new rush of determination to figure it out fast, egged on since another champion was also starting as early as him, Izuku started reading again with vigor.

Todoroki was reading just as fast, both spurred on by the motivation of their rivalry.

"The egg was so loud, I thought my ears were gonna fall off." Izuku blurted out of nowhere, mostly muttering it to himself, but he had a habit of muttering louder then he means, and Todoroki had heard him.

He paused for a moment, perhaps trying to tell if Izuku had been talking to him, before he started reading again.

"It was. I'm banned from opening it on board after the first time."

Izuku jolted, surprised Todoroki had responded.

"Yeah… my dorm mates all forbade me from opening it while they're in the room again or to at least warn them." Izuku chuckled sheepishly, scratching his cheek. "To be fair, deciding to wait to open it till everyone else had fallen asleep was a bad decision on my part."

Todoroki awkwardly nodded, and they again fell into silence.

They both were reading diligently for another ten minutes, when Izuku heard a familiar voice humming.

Looking up, his eyes lit up when he saw the tall form of Yaoyorozu.

She had a stack of books in her hand and a list in the other, and she was putting a few books piled on her arm back, and then taking a few more in a trade.

Seeing her reminded him he had questions about the last class of Transfiguration for her. He had fallen asleep and she had given him her notes to go over and copy, but there was a part he was having a hard time deciphering and this would be the perfect time to ask of her.

Raising his hand again, he called out to her in his most quiet loud whisper.

"Yaoyorozu!" Turning, she gave him a big smile and a wave, and walked over. Todoroki setting down his book to nod his head at her and give her a wave, which she returned with a possible even brighter smile.

Walking into the library, Momo was first taken aback by how crowded it was. It was a school day, and most often on school days the most students you'd see were fifth years and up, with all the students below always checking out their books instead of staying in the library. The second thing she was surprised by, was seeing Todoroki and Midoriya, both sitting at the same table tucked in a corner mostly out of sight.

It wasn't the fact that they were in the library that was surprising- in fact Midoriya was very studious and often could be found here, and Momo had seen Todoroki in the library on more than a few occasions- No, the shocking thing was seeing the two of them sitting together.

As competing champions, Momo had thought they would prefer to not interact with each other, certainly Bakugou and Monoma had taken that route regarding the other champions- but it seemed Midoriya's habit of making friends with even the oddest of people was still as active as ever, and Momo was glad Todoroki was level headed enough to know wasting energy on such trivial things as unnecessary rivalry was pointless.

Momo figured out just why so many students were huddled up in the library today- they were gawking rather rudely at Todoroki and Midoriya. She heard them whispering as she passed, going to put away her checked out books, and she found herself frowning slightly as a group of sixth year Slytherins knocked over a stack of books, just to try and get a better look at them. Before Momo could tell them off, the librarian was on them like a mousetrap, so instead Momo continued putting away her books as the students were rightly told off.

Finishing putting away, Momo pulled out a list of books she planned to check out this time, and read thoroughly through the list before she started walking down the aisles and pulling out the new books.

The fifth book on her list brought her to the aisle next to the table where Todoroki and Midoriya were sitting, and upon seeing her- Midoriya raised his hand.

"Yaoyorozu!"

He was beckoning her over, and so Momo positioned her books more securely, and then walked over to his table and gave a smile and a wave.

Todoroki had been holding his book in his hands, but as he approached he sit it down on the table, turning towards her, he gave her a nod and a short wave.

"Good morning." He spoke, and Momo nodded her head in return, giving him a beaming smile as she replied.

"Good morning Todoroki!"

It was nice talking to Todoroki so casually, after their last meeting on Friday, where she had revealed what she thought of him, she was worried the next time they talked it would be filled with discomfort, but it didn't have the air of awkwardness at all.

Turning to Midoriya, Momo set her own books at the table and then rested her hands on the back of the empty chair, Todoroki on her left and Midoriya on her right.

"What was the reason you called me over, Midoriya?" She said good naturedly, and Midoriya leaned down and sorted through his bag, before pulling out his Transfiguration book with two pieces of parchment sticking out of it.

"It's the notes you gave me, Yaoyorozu." He stated, pulling out the parchments and laying them both on the table, after clearing away his task related parchments. "There was just one bit I was having trouble with, and I was wondering if you could explain it to me."

"Of course, which part was the problem?" Momo asked, taking a seat and leaning over to look at the section Midoriya was pointing at with his quill. Todoroki went back to reading his book while Momo explained and Midoriya copied her explanation down on his own notes.

Momo didn't notice, that halfway through Todoroki had started paying attention to what she was saying as well, looking up from his book and watching as she detailed ways Professor Pixie-Bob had told them to Non-verbally transfigure.

As she finished, she noticed Todoroki's gaze on her.

"You know a lot about Transfiguration." Todoroki stated as Midoriya scribbled down the last piece of information she had given, and Momo flushed slightly.

"Oh, thank you. I've read many books about the subject and practice is all." Momo shook her head gently while she spoke, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she scanned through the notes she'd written. "Anyone can do it." She said modestly.

"Anyone can do it sure, but Yaoyorozu is amazing at it." Midoriya pipped up, finishing writing and joining the conversation. "She always pays close attention in all of her classes, and her notes are considered a sure way to pass an exam if you get a hand on one of them!"

Momo flushed further now.

"Oh, they aren't that great."

"They are! Trust me Todoroki, if you ever need help in any subject- Yaoyorozu is your girl!"

Momo blushed fully for an odd reason when Midoriya said "your girl", though she really had no idea why it would make her cheeks so warm and her pulse quicken. It was such a common phrase it was odd that it was affecting her this much.

"I find it believable. The nurse mentioned that you were top in your school year, and I believed her then I'll believe this now." Todoroki set his book down, looking Momo in the eyes. "You've always seemed intelligent to me from the moment we met."

They held a contact for a moment, and Momo felt more flustered with each second his gorgeous eye's looked into hers.

"I- um.." Momo fumbled, her cheeks lightly pink, and her heart giving a few out of step beats.

"Thank you. It… means a lot coming from someone so talented with magic as yourself." Momo broke the eye contact, her onyx eyes falling back onto the table as she shuffled some loose parchment together. A smile forming on her lips at the warm feeling spreading through her chest.

"May I ask why you think I'm so talented?" Todoroki asked, his books forgotten as he closed the one he had been reading and setting it atop the others, obviously finding the conversation with Momo more interesting.

"Well, I watched you do your task, and you displayed some spells I hadn't even heard of!" Her cheeks weren't pink anymore, as her mind started focusing more on the amazing spells Todoroki had used, she was focusing less on the warmth in her chest and the buzzing that had filled her brain and more on the excitement of talking about the spells.

"That ice spell you used for example, I can't find it in any of the books I've looked in, and of course the possibility that I'm not looking in the right book is possible, but judging from the fact I looked in all the common ones does mean that the spell you used is uncommon." Her eyes were shining, and Todoroki was staring at her with the edge of surprise on his features. Momo continued gushing, quite enraptured by his talent as a spell caster.

Todoroki in turn, was quite in awe of her.

He was watching Momo quite thoughtfully as she detailed his fight again, an odd, completely unfamiliar feeling growing in him as he found himself paying more attention to the way her hair fell around her face and how interesting her eye's looked so enthused then what she was talking about.

"I could teach them to you." Todoroki offered suddenly, and Momo stopped halfway through her waterfall of admiration, she turned to him with shock on her features, and he quickly added- "if it would be easier then searching in a book of course."

"Oh no!" Momo hurried, holding her hands up and unable to keep the excited smile on her face. "Your teaching would be more helpful then any book I could find it in I'm sure, so I will gladly accept the teaching."

Midoriya broke back into the conversation at this point, he had been sitting there awkwardly throughout the entire conversation, but now he couldn't help but jump back in.

"You know Todoroki, you're a lot nicer then I originally thought you were." Todoroki looked at him, and Midoriya realized the possible rudeness of his words, and rushed to add more. His hands moving up and waving wildly as he made to emphasise he didn't mean to be rude.

"I mean- I kind of assumed all the other champions would be mean- but you haven't been anything but polite when I've talked to you, and you don't know Yaoyorozu that well either and you're offering her lessons it's just… not what I expected, is all." Midoriya finished embarrassed, though Todoroki just nodded in response. Not sure how to respond.

"I always thought you were nice." Momo admitted, not looking at either of them as she organized her books to make them easier to carry. "A rude person would never have taken the time to wave back at me."

As soon as the words left her mouth, she flushed. Momo couldn't think of a more embarrassing thing to say, especially since Midoriya didn't know what she was talking about so would have a million questions to ask.

Chancing a glance at Todoroki, she grew more embarrassed by his surprised eyes.

" Sorry, that was- odd of me to say." Momo hastened out, standing up and shoving the books into her bag. Everything screaming at her that she needed to leave right now and escape this embarrassing moment to deal with later with a thought-out plan in hand. "I hope I was able to answer your questions Midoriya."

Midoriya nodded quickly, confusion written all over his face as he looked back between the two of them, curious and confused as to why an apparent wave made Momo so flustered and Todoroki so speechless.

"I- just remembered I have to go feed my cat, I'll see you two later." Momo threw out the truthful excuse quickly, and then hurried out of the library with her books. Her ponytail swinging behind her rapidly at the speed of her walk.

"Oh- wait…" Todoroki spoke suddenly, seeming to only have just registered that she was leaving. He spoke to late however, and Momo was gone.

He returned to his original position, having turned and risen slightly when he called out to Momo. He gazed at the title of one of Midoriya's books thoughtfully, his right hand covering his mouth and chin as he thought.

After a moment, he got up as well, putting his books into his own bag.

He gave Midoriya a nod, picking up his bag and securing it in his grip.

"Later, Midoriya."

Midoriya only had time to give out a quick- "S-see you Todoroki." Before Todoroki was gone as well, the groups huddling behind the nearest bookshelf- just out of earshot- all leapt back as he passed.

Midoriya felt just as confused as them, and he had been able to hear the conversation.


	7. Chapter 7

Ochako was humming, her schoolbag swinging at her hip as she skipped, shoes tapping loudly through the quiet hall.

It was Sunday, and she was heading back to Gryffindor tower from the owlery, having taken her precious time saying hello to all the feathery owl friends after sending her letter.

The letter had been to her parents, detailing to them how the first task went and who won, including in it her concern and excitement for the second task. They had been eager to hear about the Triwizard when she first told them, in awe that something straight out of a fantasy book was going to happen right in front of their daughter's eyes. Being muggles, they were always interested to know what was happening in the wizarding world, especially if it was something Ochako found interesting. And since it involved two of her friends, they were even more invested, as they took any opportunity to learn more about her friends as they could.

Taking a secret passage two steps at a time, she was soon in an even emptier hallway- most students were deciding to spend the day outdoors, where it was nice and sunny. Tsuyu, Momo, Mina, and Kyouka were already outside, she had seen them from the owlery tower sitting underneath their usual tree, and Ochako had every plan to join them!

"FUCKING USELESS!"

Or not.

Coming to a screeching halt at the shout and the loud thud that followed- Ochako turned towards the large oak door the shouting was coming from with an almost amused smile on her lips- It wasn't hard for her to guess who was behind the door.

Opening the door slowly, Ochako peered into the empty classroom with interest.

Katsuki was sitting on the ground with his back to her, about five stacks of books around him and one lopsided and haphazard on the ground across from him. He was in the center of the room, having pushed all the chairs and desks to the side, giving him as much space as possible in the center for his pentagram of book stacks.

As Ochako slowly entered the room, he raised his wand seethingly and summoned the thrown book back to him, where he shoved it neater into the smallest pile farthest away from him.

"These books never have what they fucking talk about on the back damn it!" He raged loudly, and Ochako couldn't help but let out a small giggle at the silliness of it all. Bakugou was yelling at books for something they had no control over. Ochako stepped into the room fully as Katsuki spun around to glare at her with his ever-storming red eyes.

"What the fuck do you want." He demanded, glaring furiously at her. Ochako wasn't put off by his glare, and she curiously waltzed forward to pick up one of the many books about.

She was able to briefly gather that it was one of the many library books about magical creatures before Katsuki wrenched it out of her hand.

"Don't touch, I have a whole system set up and if you touch it you'll fucking mess it up!" He growled, setting the book back on the stack she had taken it from. Ochako raised her hands in defense, smiling innocently as she stepped around the stack of books to stand in front of him.

"Don't worry I won't touch anything else… Katsuki." She added Katsuki as an afterthought, still quite proud of herself for being one of the only few able to call him by his first name, and she couldn't resist saying it whenever she could squeeze it in. "I'm just wondering what you're doing cooped up here inside when it's SUCH a lovely day out!" Ochako gestured out the large classroom windows, where a picture-perfect image of a beautiful day could be seen.

A tree with a bird nest was framing the window, and sunshine shone through the branches illuminating the room with golden light, and the grass was the greenest it had been all term, students were everywhere on the lawn, soaking up the sunlight while it lasted. Most of them were laughing and having fun, and Ochako felt whiplash as she turned and faced back towards Katsuki, who was the exact opposite of outside.

Katsuki grimaced at the sight and turned back to the next book.

"No time for shitty sunny days. I'm too busy doing important shit to deal with sunshine people and daisies." Ochako frowned, putting her hands on her hips and tilting her head while looking at him with disapproval.

"That's what you always say."

"And it's what I'll continue to fucking say."

Ochako puffed out her cheeks, looking around the completely empty room, and how it was the exact opposite of what was outside.

"What are you doing that's so important that you can't come outside and be with your friends on such a gorgeous day!" Ochako demanded, and Katsuki snorted.

"Something much more important."

Ochako raised her eyebrows and looked at the books around him.

"Really? These books are more important than being around people?"

Katsuki nodded.

"Yep, you bet your round fucking face it is."

Rolling her eyes, Ochako gave one more look around the room, then outside. She was conflicted. On one hand, she wanted to go outside and enjoy the sun like she always did on days like these. Her parents used to call her a sunflower, she was attracted to sunlight like a bee was to honey, and just being out in the sun improved her mood and made her glow with enthusiasm. But on the other, she really didn't like the idea of Bakugou being alone in the room for however long it took him to get through these books.

Her eyes drifted from the pouring sunshine with owls soaring about, to Katsuki's face, scrunched up and upset looking.

And she made up her mind.

"Alright then, I'll help you with it!" She exclaimed, plopping herself comfortably on the ground in front of him and grabbing a book to start flipping through.

"Fucking what?!" Katsuki asked in disbelief, looking at her in utter confusion.

"If it's so important that you can't go outside for it, then it's important enough for me to want to help!" Ochako informed him, scanning the page thoroughly.

"You don't even know what the fuck I'm looking for?" Ochako looked up at him and beamed.

"It's about the second task, right? You're trying to find out whatever creature is making that noise that emits from the egg!" Katsuki was taken aback, as he hadn't expected her to actually know what he was looking for.

"How do you know that?!" He demanded, frowning at her. She shrugged, going back to her book and flipping the page.

"I heard Deku mumbling to himself about it, and I heard the awful noise the egg makes when he first opened it. Our dorm rooms are technically next to each other, so I heard every screech of it."

"Fucking Deku." Katsuki muttered, seemingly almost out of instinct of hearing Deku's name. He quickly recovered himself and scowled at her.

"Fucking fine, you can help as long as you're not being annoying!"

Ochako beamed at him, which he returned by deepening his scowl.

"Smiling is fucking annoying."

Ochako continued looking through her book, the smile not leaving her face till Katsuki was back to looking through his own book.

An hour later, and nothing.

They hadn't made any progress in finding whatever it was that made that horrible noise, and with every book they went through that didn't reveal the answer, the more angry Katsuki became.

He was more frustrated in himself then at the books, Ochako knew, with his self confidence he always felt like he should figure everything out immediately and became furious at himself when he didn't reach that expectation.

Ochako gave him a glance as she set the book she had just finished reading down, they were about half way through the book piles, and his set forehead and even more deep-seated frown was nothing compared to the aura he was seething out. Ochako wanted to tell him it was alright if he didn't get it now, the next task wasn't for another two-ish months, so he had plenty of time to figure it out.

She didn't however, because she doubted it would actually help. Knowing him, he'd take it as an insult towards his intelligence or something similar.

Stretching her arms above her head, Ochako let herself stretch out all the kinks and cramps that had popped up, particularly in her neck as it was cramped from looking down for a solid hour. She was getting bored of all the books, and of Katsuki's attitude, every time she suggested what it could be he shot her down with increasing annoyance, as if she was bringing up false leads purely to distract him.

Her eyes landed on one of the large windows directly in front of her, and the need for fresh air blossomed inside her. Raising her wand, she felt a huge beam of success as she managed to nonverbally open the window, letting in the nice air.

Katsuki glances at the window with sharp, angry eyes before going back to the large book. Ochako also picked back up a book, and started reading again, feeling more refreshed by the breeze.

It didn't last long though, and soon the monotony of it all settled back in, and Ochako found her eyes unfocusing on the words in front of her, every other word became a garbled mess until she focused hard on it, which caused the word next to it to become messed up. After two minutes of this, her head lulled forward, and her eyes slid shut- before she was snapped awake by Katsuki uttering five swear words under his breath.

Shaking her head, she set the book down with a thud in front of her and reaching up she closed her eyes and rubbed them, before giving her face a good slap once or twice to try and wake herself up from the doze. She was determined to help.

Picking the book up again, she was focused for about ten minutes before her mind drifted off, thinking about how sad it was that quidditch was canceled for the year, and how Professor Midnight's surprise quiz the other day had really been unfair.

Her mind went everywhere except for what she was reading on the page.

As she mindlessly turned the page, a bird landed on the open window sill, tweeting an upbeat song towards it's distant bird friends, and Ochako found herself humming to its tune.

Looking up from the book, she saw the bird looking at her, it's cute little head tilted to the side as if curious if she was singing along.

It gave a little tune, and then paused, looking at her with interest to see if she would follow. And when she did, it hopped a little and then did another tune, bopping around with excitement whenever Ochako copied its song.

She put the book down on her lap, her lips in a smile as she and this bird sang with each other.

Katsuki tried to block it out at first, finding it annoying that she was finding time to take such a silly break- but then he was listening to every little hum she made, and glancing up from his book every time the bird finished it's part, watching Ochako as she swayed from side to side. Her face beaming with amusement.

Damn it she was so distracting.

He was growing increasingly annoyed with himself, one half urging to take a break and listen, and the other shouting that it was a useless distraction and that he needed to be the first to figure out the egg.

It was deafening in his ears, drowning out Ochako and the bird with its conflict.

After three minutes, he couldn't take it anymore, and he threw his book down with a swear.

"DO YOU FUCKING MIND?! I'M STILL TRYING TO WORK HERE, AND YOU'RE NOT HELPING!"

The bird flew off in distress at his yelling, and Ochako jumped. She turned to him with an apologetic look on her face, and he internally flinched at the look.

"Oh, sorry. I got distracted."

"I FUCKING NOTICED!"

Ochako frowned.

"There's no reason to keep yelling Katsuki, I'm not humming anymore."

"I'LL YELL AS MUCH AS I FUCKING WANT! IT'S WHAT YOU DID JUST NOW DOING WHAT YOU WANT, SO I HAVE THE RIGHT TO FUCKING DO IT TO!"

Ochako's frown deepened, and she inched to face him, folding her arms crossly against her chest.

 _"_ Ive been helping for the past hour without a single break and I take not even five minutes to sing with a bird and suddenly I've done something terrible! Really Katsuki, you're being really mean for no reason." Ochako huffed, crossing her arms as she stared up at him in defiance. He threw his arms up in the air

"Singing like shit isn't helping! It's fucking distracting and no help!"

Ochako's eyes narrowed.

"Well, excuse me for not being able to sing like a mermaid! Next time I'll make sure to suppress my inner joy so you can live in your bubble void of anything happy Bakugou!" She stood up, hands on her hips as she glared at him. "I was helping you because I wanted to help, but if I'm just being a distraction and annoying then I'll leave!" And with that, she marched towards the door, refusing to look at him.

Throwing open the door, she took one last look at him, and stuck out her tongue. Katsuki stuck his tongue out in return, and she slammed the door shut behind her.

Katsuki stood there for a moment, fists clenched and seething, before throwing himself back on the ground where he glared at all the books. Minutes passed, and his anger switched more towards himself.

Her humming hadn't been that bad, and it was mostly distracting because he had fond it more appealing to listen to her then read through the books.

Picking up the book he had thrown down, he considered hitting himself with it, but decided against it. She's the one who deserved to get a good swing at him, and he shouldn't take that from her by doing it himself.

He flipped the book open, shuffling through to find the page he had left on, though all his motivation was gone.

Ochako had taken it with her.

His mind drifted, going back through the argument, recalling every word she said.

His head snapped up, his red eyes widening as something clicked.

"Mermaids."

Ochako stomped all the way up to Gryffindor tower with an annoyed huff on her lips. He had no reason to be so upset at her, she was only trying to help and sure her humming hadn't been amazing, but it was better then complete silence!

Though… Katsuki probably thought otherwise.

Halfway to the tower, the annoyance boiling in her stomach turned sour, and she felt dejected and sad more than anger. She hated fighting with Katsuki, and they hadn't had a fight that bad since third year, before they had become friends. A bitter taste was left in her mouth, and she barely noticed passing people or the sun streaming through the windows.

"Lion wings." Ochako sighed at the Fat Lady, who raised her eyebrows at Ochako's out of character somberness though she swung open without a word. Climbing through the portrait, Ochako was glad to see the common room practically empty. A few second years were huddled next to the fire, books open on their laps as they hurried to catch up with homework. Paying them no mind, Ochako made a beeline for the girls dormitory, she no longer wanted to go outside, she just wanted to sit in misery and eat as many pumpkin pasties as she could.

Though as she passed the bulletin board, something caught her attention.

A large parchment had been placed, covering everything that had been on the board the night before, and written on it in large letters:

"Hogsmead Visit, Saturday."

And just like that, Ochako found excitement boiling inside of her, pushing aside the sourness of the fight. As quickly as she entered the common room she left, sprinting towards outside where she hoped her friends where still sitting beneath their tree.

"Who's the cutest pygmy puff? You are!"

Mina cooed, scratching her pygmy puff Queenie on its head. It closed it's big, blue eyes, making small squeaking sounds in satisfaction to Mina's petting.

Looking up, Kyouka covered her eyes from the sun as she squinted up at Mina and Tsuyu, both of who were in the tree laying in the branches. Tsuyu had her eyes closed, an occasional deep breath escaping her signaling that she was sound asleep, laying in a patch of sunlight.

Queenie crawled out of Mina's hands and jumped onto her shoulder, rubbing against her cheek as it let out a bunch of chattering like purrs.

"Queenie sure is talkative today." Kyouka mused, turning to look towards Momo. "Are you sure Tomohiro won't like, try and hunt her?"

"Oh," Momo blinked, lowering her book and revealing the cat nestled on her lap. Hearing his name, the ragdoll cat lazily looked up, slowly blinking its eyes up at Momo as she scratched beneath his chin. "Don't worry, Tomohiro and Queenie get along great, they adore each other!"

Mina grasped Queenie safely in her hands and turned onto her stomach, peering through the leaves at them.

"They're sooo cute together!" She agreed, rubbing Queenie's soft fur against her cheek. "Tomohiro's the gentlest cat I've ever met!"

Tomohiro purred, rubbing his whiskers against Momo's hand as she beamed with pride.

Setting her book down she used both her hands to massage his cheeks, and he closed his eyes in content, swaying slightly on his paws.

"Oh, he really is, isn't he? He's such a sweetie- every time I go back to the common room he's sitting there waiting for me, sitting patiently on one of the arm chairs near the entrance."

Kyouka and Mina awed, and Kyouka reached out and gave Tomohiro a scratch behind the ears.

"That's cute, I'll admit. Owls don't really do that sort of thing, they mostly just… hang out in the owlery, Not a lot of opportunities to greet you when you come home, when they're not even at home." She stated dryly, the small scowl on her face quickly disappeared however, when Tomohiro turned around a bit and licked the side of her palm.

"OH He licked me!"

In an instant Mina was climbing down from the tree, Queenie tucked into her schoolbag.

"Did he really?! Oooh I'm so jealous! Do you think he'll lick me?!" Kyouka moved to the side quickly, making room for Mina as she huddled down and tried to coax Tomohiro into her lap.

"Come to your favorite aunt Mina Tomohiro! Come here kitty kitty~" Mina cooed, patting her lap and making kissy noises.

He stared at her, confused, before he yawned, turning away from Mina he stretched his paws, before jumping up and into the tree where he curled into a ball of fluff. His ice blue eyes barely visible above his well kept tail.

There was a moment of pause, as all the girls looked up at the him.

"I feel betrayed." Mina pouted, staring up at Tomohiro.

Kyouka snorted, sitting back down against the tree and getting comfortable again.

"That's what you get for being too forceful Mina, you know cat's don't like overly interested humans, they prefer the calm-but-willing-to-pet-them types."

Mina made a face, not noticing how very jiggly her bag had gotten.

Momo was also looking up at her cat, head tilted to the side as she realized something.

"You know… I don't think anyone's ever called him kitty before…" Momo mused, her voice thoughtful as she placed her hand beneath her chin.

Mina made a noise similar to chocking, as she whipped around towards Momo incredulously, her eyes wide and mouth agape in shock.

"WHAT! How can he have never been called kitty before?! That's like, a requirement! Every cat MUST be called kitty at least once!"

"Well, mother calls him "Most Handsome Blue eyed Cat" and "Dashing feline" occasionally, but that's probably the closest he's ever gotten to being called "kitty". It's always just seemed rather odd, calling him kitty when he has a name."

Kyouka and Mina shared a look.

"Wow… rich people's lives really are different… but I had no idea it would be different in such an odd way…" Mina murmured, disbelief in her eyes but a tinge of awe in her voice. Momo flushed.

"Is it really that-" Tomohiro gave an abrupt, very loud, meow, catching their attention as he puffed up in the tree, eyes focused behind them as his hairs stood on end.

Turning, their hands instinctively were on their wands, but when they saw what Tomohiro was meowing at, panic swept through them, and Mina let out a yell.

A pink streak was bounding across a few feet from them, heading towards a nearby outcropping of trees.

"QUEENIE NO! COME BACK HERE!" Mina leapt up as she yelled, and sprinted off after her bright pink puff. Kyouka scrambled up as well, joining the dash after the wild pygmy.

Momo got up to, with intentions to help, but her attention was diverted as Tomohiro gave another, even louder meow, and leapt out of the tree, aiming for her arms.

She caught him solidly, his soft fur momentarily blocking her vision as he squirmed. Before she could let him down however, he got into a position in her arms that he was comfortable, and settled there, resting his head in her elbow while his round body took up the rest of her arms. His tail leisurely waving, his eyes closed.

It was as if he was saying "I did my job of telling you Queenie had escaped, now I get to rest."

"Tomohiro Yaoyorozu that was a very high branch! What if I hadn't caught you, you could have gotten hurt!" In response to her scolding, Tomohiro meowed, looking up at her with half lidded eyes. Sighing with a shake of her head, Momo turned to see what the other girls were doing, and craning her neck, she saw them conversing with Kaminari and Kirishima who were up in a tree a little ways away.

Kirishima, with a pink bouncing pygmy on his head.

Queenie apparently had a destination in mind for her wild dash.

The deck was empty, most of the other Durmstrang students having chosen to spend the day out on the Hogwarts lawn, mingling with the other students.

Shouto however, was still on the boat.

Endeavor had decided that days when the others were off boat where the best to spend training, out of sight of the others who could potentially spy on his training methods.

Just more of Endeavor's paranoid tunnel vision, he didn't even trust his own students. Not that that was surprising, he didn't even trust Shouto.

After five hours, Shouto was finally able to take a break from training. Endeavor gruffly agreeing that a break was needed after a particularly swollen bruise had formed on Shouto's arm, caused by one of the spells Endeavor had been throwing at him.

Just another ache he would have to deal with.

The breeze outside was pleasant, but it didn't do much to change Shouto's mood, as he stood at the railing looking at the green all he could really think about was the throbbing in his arm and the anger seething in his veins.

He felt like a weight was pushing down on his shoulders, the sun was shining bright, sparkling across the black lake's murky surface and sending warmth down onto the students mingling on the grass, but Shouto felt like none of it was touching him.

He felt frozen in comparison to the students he could see as he slowly moved his gaze across the grounds, like a shadow was standing above him, blocking him from the sun, denying him any access to the warmth that they were enjoying.

His body felt frozen but his veins felt on fire, boiling at every word that left Endeavor's arrogant mouth in the past five hours, all the nonsense and filth that had spilled out made Shouto want to burn out his tongue.

His fingers scratched into the railing, his nails shifting sharper as they dug into the wood, splintering up pieces under their force. His breathing got more labored, his eyes narrowing as they continued to scan yet not focus. His teeth clenched, his eyes blazing, the tiniest of feathers sprouting across his knuckles as more of his fingers shifted.

Endeavor had no right to say any of those words. Had no right to taunt and throw about peoples names in their training. He enjoyed seeing the anger in Shouto's eyes as he sneered at him and at the few people Shouto held dear.

The boiling concentrated in Shouto's hands, and the wood beneath his palms started to heat, but Shouto was unaware, as he was caught up in cursing his father.

Endeavor didn't deserve to speak his mothers or Fuyumi's name, not after every _wretched_ thing he's done to them.

He claims he does it to make Shouto stronger, that it reminds him of the people he's aiming to protect and grow stronger for. But he says it with a sneer in his voice and a curl to his lip, and disdain in his eyes.

He doesn't care, that's just his excuse.

His vile, pompous, disgusting excuse. That everything he does is solely to make Shouto stronger, to make Shouto a better wizard.

Shouto's lip curled, and a snarl left him, his vision going red around the edges and everything went even more out of focus.

He hated him. Hated him more than anything, Shouto didn't think he'd ever feel an emotion bigger than his hatred for his "father".

He hated how Endeavor hide behind words and the power of being headmaster, using his position as a "teacher" to form students to his will. Despised how he used his hold on Fuyumi to keep Shouto in line. Every inch of Shouto hated every part of that being who called himself a man.

The wood was burning, smoke escaping from between his fingers, but Shouto didn't notice, he was too lost in how much he wanted to set his father on fire and watch him burn to even smell the smoke.

He wanted to take Endeavor's wand and-

There was Yaoyorozu.

Everything suddenly came to a stop, the blood simmered down as he blinked, focusing in.

Shouto could clearly see her, standing near a large tree on the grounds.

There was no mistaking that tall figure, with hair pulled into what Shouto had learned was her signature, it was definitely Yaoyorozu, holding something large in her arms.

He blinked again, and just like that it his brain had cleared. Smoke filled his nostrils and he wrenched his fingers out of the deep cuts he had dug into the railing. His gaze fell from Yaoyorozu toward the wood he had been burning against his palms, and he cursed under his breath. The wood was black and still smoking.

Shouto quickly pulled his wand out, talon like fingers wrapping around the wood clumsily. He felt an overwhelming sense of urgency to clear all evidence of his Veela anger as soon as possible, the anger now being replaced with something very akin to being ashamed.

What if she had seen him? Seen… that side of him? Seen the anger in his eyes and how vicious it made him? He didn't know why, but the thought of her seeing that made him feel… panicked.

As he cast a spell that was repairing the wood, his eyes flickered up, checking to see what she was doing.

She was facing away from him, her attention seemingly towards something in a tree that he couldn't see, and he felt some tension release from his shoulders at that.

His arm gave another painful throb, and he winced, but kept it steady as to not shift the course of the magic. The last thing he needed at the moment was for the non-burned wood to start sprouting leaves.

It was almost fully repaired, when Yaoyorozu turned, half facing towards him.

Reflexively, he shoved his non wand- yet still quite talony- fist behind his back, before dropping his wand hand behind as well. His face fell into its usual look, and he set his gaze as shifting from her to the black water lapping against the hull.

Yaoyorozu's attention was still on the tree, but she soon shook her head with an exasperated sigh, and fully turned.

And their eyes met.

Shouto's breath caught, as Yaoyorozu swept her eyes over him, but it was different then when most people do it, with her it felt as if she was checking to see if he was injured, not looking at his features.

He had noticed that about her, how she swept her gaze across everyone she came across for visible injuries, most likely a habit she'd picked up during her apprenticeship.

It was something he admired, but he very much hoped she couldn't see anything about him due to the distance.

Hoped she didn't see the tendrils of smoke that refused to go away, hoped that no pain was showing on his face as his wand pushed into his bruise.

Apparently she didn't, as she soon beamed at him, moving to what he assumed was wave, but she was stopped as whatever she was holding moved, and Shouto realized with piqued interest, that it was a cat.

It was a beautiful cat. White, with long hair, a brownish red spot circling it's left eye, and trailing down its neck. The cat turned around in her arms, rising from its laying position. Turning its head, it peered at him, eyes narrowed, before it sniffed, and then raised its head a little and sniffed again.

It was smelling the smoke.

Shouto flickered to Yaoyorozu's face, scanning to make sure she hadn't noticed anything. His entire body tensed, the damn talons not going away.

Yaoyorozu blinked, before a sweet smile entranced her face, and she held the cat closer to her- it's small face now pressed against her cheek- and with one hand she grabbed it's front paw and waved it towards Shouto, her eyes sliding up toward him where their eyes met once again.

Shouto felt his face and neck warm a little, and it felt like he was feeling the sun on his skin for the first time.

Yaoyorozu walked towards him, cat still held close as it dozed, relaxed in the warmth of her embrace. Shouto felt oddly envious.

She came to the water's edge, close enough so that they could hear each other, and Shouto forgot he was supposed to be worried about her being near.

"Good morning Todoroki!" She called up, nodding her head at him. Shouto returned the nod, that odd warmth not leaving him, and now spreading to his chest.

"Morning, Yaoyorozu." His gaze shifted toward the purring cat, who had one eye cracked open to look up at him. "You have a cat."

"I do!" Yaoyorozu beamed with pride, slender fingers petting behind the silky ears as she glanced down. "This is Tomohiro, he doesn't get out of Ravenclaw tower much, but on days like this I can't deny him the fresh air."

Her attention was adoring as she went on to tell him what breed the cat was, and how he might occasionally see him in Ravenclaw tower from time to time looking through the tall windows- and as she talked, Shouto found himself having a hard time looking away from her. He noticed odd things, like the curve of her cheeks as she smiled, and the brightness that shone from her as she looked at him.

His hands changed smoothly back to human, and his father was pushed out of his mind.

Replaced, by Yaoyorozu.


	8. Chapter 8

It was Wednesday morning, and the thought of the Hogsmead trip on Saturday is what kept everyone's spirits up.

On more than one occasion Momo had heard her friends muttering under their breath about what they were going to do at Hogsmead, their gleam of hope as they trudged through seemingly endless homework preparing them for the N.E.W.T's next year.

Momo was quite looking forward to Hogsmead herself. Her favorite shop in London- Terry Honeytree's Tea and Cakes- had recently opened a branch in Hogsmead at her mother's request, and Momo couldn't wait to share with her friends one of its delectable pastries! She had promised all her friends that it would be her treat of course (the prices were rather on the high end), which brightened Ochako to the idea considerably, something the girl needed. Momo had noticed a difference in her this week, while she acted her usual self, it seemed rather… forcefully so. Like she was heightening her usual behavior as a distraction. Momo suspected it had something to do with Bakugou, as she had seen him cast glances over towards Ochako on occasions, his face contorting into something akin to uncertainty but he had yet to do anything.

She was concerned for her friend, and if Ochako was feeling sad, Momo wanted to help, but a moment had not arrived for her to ask. What with the deep piles of homework, apprentice duties, prefect duties, and helping her friends with their homework, Momo hadn't any free time to sit Ochako down and talk about it.

As her mind turned over possible times in her schedule she could talk to Ochako, she was interrupted in her thoughts by the gaggle of girls sitting behind her at the Slytherin table, giggling to themselves as they undoubtedly stared at Todoroki.

The usual occurrence. It happened at every meal, even when Todoroki wasn't around.

And it got bothersome fast.

Beside her, Iida sighed, putting his spoon down into his porridge.

"I don't understand their ability to constantly be so giddy every morning."

Momo glanced over her shoulder, peering at the girls, catching the top of Todoroki's silky hair above their heads a little farther down the table. She shrugged slightly, turning back.

"I think it has something to do with Todoroki… girls seem rather smitten by him." Iida nodded, looking towards Todoroki himself.

"I agree, there's something about the Durmstrang champion that attracts the female student body to him. I wonder what, though? Perhaps he was cursed when he was younger?" Iida pondered, his mind going through all the possible curses he had read about. "His father is a highly important figure in the wizarding world; it wouldn't be a shock if his children were targeted."

Momo bit her lip, turning over this theory of Iida's in her head, considering all the possibilities.

Going after someone of high standings children wasn't unheard of, she herself had been caught up in something akin to that once or twice, but it didn't quite add up in her mind. No, Todoroki's appeal seemed… natural. Like he was born with his incredibly good looks.

Momo glanced over at him as Todoroki stood up, his face bored as he flicked his eyes about the room. He noticed Momo quickly, and their eyes met. And, Momo thought, that for a moment, his gaze fell to her lips.

She flushed, something she hadn't done around Todoroki in awhile, before releasing her lip and smiling at him, giving him a nod good morning. He returned it with his own polite nod, his red and white bangs gently moving, before he swiftly left the Great Hall, a few of his fellow Durmstrang students following.

Momo turned back to her plate, still feeling a growing warmth in her cheeks as the morning owls swooped in. Her family's owl, Athena, flew down, dropping a parcel from her mother in front of her and looking expectantly at Momo for food.

As she gave Athena a bite of her toast- she felt an odd realization.

Whatever Todoroki had, it seemed magical when affecting others, but the racing of her own heart felt… organic.

Like the beat of her heart was her own, not magic or a curse.

And she didn't quite know what that meant.

She didn't have much time to dawdle on her revelation, Iida soon drawing her into conversation about the Arithmancy homework due that evening, though the thought was simmering in the back of her mind.

Athena flew off as she left for class, slinging her bag over her shoulder as Iida stopped Sero and Mina from running in the hall, acting before a teacher had even stood up.

At the high table Professor Hizashi sighed in relief, settling back down with his daily issue of Orderly Orchestra, once again glad that Iida had been chosen as a prefect. His need to discipline his Hufflepuffs had fallen exponentially ever since last term, and he loved it.

Momo paused for a moment before continuing out of the hall, her mind starting its usual shift into thinking about the lessons ahead.

But a surprising sight greeted Momo as she left the Great Hall, causing her to come to a full stop as she blinked.

Todoroki was standing alone by a staircase towards the Ravenclaw tower, looking quite uninterested in all the people skirting around him and whispering, his attention on the crowd of students leaving the hall.

"UM!" Yulan, a fourth year Ravenclaw, suddenly stopped, looking at him with a face so red it looked like she had just eaten a Horntail Taffy. Todoroki looked at her, his face smooth.

"Yes?" He asked.

"I- I- um" The girl started, but before she could say anything else, her friends Yoru and Hana grabbed her arms and hurried her away, waving an apologetic hand at Todoroki. He blinked, before giving a small shrug and looking back at the crowd.

Momo felt sympathy for Yulan, she'd seen many students of all ages do that exact thing. She'd spoken to a lot of them, and they described it as suddenly feeling compelled to speak up around him when normally they wouldn't, some telling her this as she comforted them as quite a few felt they'd embarrassed themselves.

She looked at Todoroki with her head tilted, watching him without realizing as she tried to solve this puzzle in her head. She didn't want to be rude, but Iida's question at breakfast had sparked a curiosity in her, one she felt compelled to satisfy.

As she watched him across the great Hall, she noticed how he kept sweeping his eyes across over everyone who walked past, and she realized he was waiting for somebody.

Who though? His father had already left, and most of the Durmstrang had gone with him, so it seemed all the people he'd be waiting for had already gone.

"We should hurry to class Yaoyorozu; we don't want to be late!" Iida's voice interrupted her thoughts as he stopped next to her, bringing her back to the present. Behind him, she could see Mina and Sero speed walking over to the Gryffindor table.

"Oh! Right, of course." Momo agreed, giving one last glance towards Todoroki, her revelation pushing its way to the forefront of her mind as he pushed back his hair idly, the light streaming down from the high windows hitting his right side perfectly, causing the white to appear like it was glowing.

Iida's voice became fuzzy background noise as warmth spread from her neck to her cheeks, everything but Todoroki now dim and blurry. Her heart felt like it had a rampaging dragon thumping against her chest.

He noticed Momo then, his eyes sliding to look over and meeting hers. His white hair fell back into his face as he moved his hand up into the air in greeting, and Momo realized he had been waiting for her.

"I'll meet you in class." Momo said suddenly, turning to look at Iida as she cut him off in the middle of him saying something about prefects and good examples. He blinked, confused, and she realized how rude that had been.

"I'm sorry that was rude but- I need to go right now I'll explain later." Momo said quickly, before turning and walking towards Todoroki.

She didn't really know what she'd explain to Iida at the moment, but she'd figure it out.

"Good morning Todoroki." Momo said, stopping in front of him and giving a small nod.

"Morning." He returned, eyes glancing over at a still confused Iida over her shoulder, now accompanied by Ochako and Midoriya. "I don't want to take up to much of your time, so I'll be quick."

"Al-alright." Momo said, forcing down the flush that wanted to grow when she heard his voice.

Had it always been so pleasing to hear?

"You probably already know this, but Durmstrang has a different priority of teaching then Hogwarts." Todoroki said, clueless to the swarm of feelings Momo was experiencing. "Defense against the Dark Arts takes top priority in our school, and all others fall below it."

"Yes, I have heard of that. Hogwarts and Beauxbatons try to be more even with their curriculum, but Beauxbatons does lean more into teaching Charms them Hogwarts."

Todoroki nodded.

"And because of my schools teaching I've recently realized that I'm not as proficient in some classes as I'd like to be. So I'd like to ask you a favor, if I could Yaoyorozu."

Him saying her name took Momo completely off guard. She couldn't stop the small blush from tinging her cheeks red as her eyes widened a little, suddenly highly aware of how crowded the Entrance hall was. What if someone noticed her blushing and got the wrong idea of what they were talking about?! That would definitely fall underneath situations her parents warned her to avoid at all costs!

"I-if I'm able to help I'll be glad to!" Momo smiled, fingers fiddling with the strap of her book bag.

"Could…" Todoroki placed his hands in his pockets as he looked towards the high windows, and Momo had a suspicion he was ashamed of what he was going to ask. "you tutor me in Transfiguration?"

Momo blinked.

"Tutor you?!" She asked, thinking perhaps she'd heard him wrong amongst all the noise.

He nodded, a sour expression on his face though Momo had a gut feeling it wasn't directed at her.

"Yes. Being here at Hogwarts has made me realize how lacking I am in the subject, and I want to rectify that immediately. Midoriya mentioned you tutored the subject occasionally, so I thought I'd ask you." Todoroki explained as the entrance hall slowly started clearing up. "Only if you can of course. I have to imagine you have a busy schedule so I won't be offended if you have to decline."

"Oh no! I'd be happy to help!" Momo said hurriedly, reaching into her school bag and pulling out her scheduling book and skimming over her day. "I have a class I have to get to now, but I'm free after lunch. We could meet then and decide a more constant time, if that works for you."

Todoroki had no objections, and Momo waved good bye as she turned back to her friends, Midoriya raising his hand in greeting to Todoroki as Iida and Ochako left the hall. A thought entered Momo's head however, and she stopped and turned back to Todoroki.

"Todoroki if I may ask, why did you ask me and not a teacher from your school to tutor you?"

Todoroki's face was expressionless, but his eyes told Momo a lot as he looked into hers.

"I don't trust anyone there to teach me." He nodded good-bye to a silent Momo and Midoriya, and turned and walked out of the great hall.

Leaving Momo to share a look with Midoriya, both wondering what went on behind that ships walls.

Izuku yawned as the other students shuffled into class, chatting spiritedly away with their fellow classmates as he rubbed at his eyes.

He was exhausted. He had started his serious research on what the golden egg could possibly be the night before and had come up with no leads to anything.

Ochako had offered to help, but he had politely declined, wanting to stand on his own two feet this time around. He felt guilty knowing about the dragons, and while Todoroki and Monoma knew as well, it didn't stop him from feeling like he'd cheated. So he was determined to figure out just what the golden egg meant all on his own!

Someone tapped on his shoulder, and turning to his left he saw that Tsuyu had sat next to him. Ochako was next to her, leaning forward and talking to Kirishima.

To his right was empty, as was behind him. Those seats were saved for Iida and Yaoyorozu, who took Defense against the Dark Arts with Gryffindor this year.

Tsuyu was writing on the chalkboard she'd been given by Professor Ryūko, and Izuku waited patiently for her to finish, yawning into his hand. The chalkboard was to help her communicate while going through the month long process of holding a mandrake leaf in her mouth, as Tsuyu had gotten permission to become an animagus this term.

Professor Ryūko was overseeing it, with the occasional input of Ryukyu, due to her being a registered animagus herself.

Tsuyu held up the board, and written in loopy letters was: "you need sleep, kero."

Izuku grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck as she started erasing the words.

"It's that obvious?"

She nodded.

"I'll try and get some sleep tonight, I just got caught up with the golden egg and didn't notice the time till it was to late." Izuku admitted, turning back to his desk. He left out the part about "to late" being the sun rising, as Iida had just entered the classroom and the last thing he needed right then was a lecture on taking care of himself.

Izuku smiled and waved at the two Ravenclaws, and Yaoyorozu waved back, taking the seat behind him as Iida sat next to him.

"I hope all your classes have gone smoothly!" Iida greeted, and Izuku nodded.

"They have!" Iida seemed to take the bait, and started talking about their homework due that day and didn't continue questioning further.

Truth was, Izuku had slept through most of the morning classes.

And as Professor Might came bursting through the doors with a booming "good morning!", Izuku lamented over the fact that he wasn't going to be able to sleep through this class to, both because of Iida, and the fact that he would never be able to bring himself to sleep through one of All Mights classes.

The class went by in a blurry haze, Izuku taking notes slower then usual, but soon All Might was calling the end of the lesson and he breathed an unintentional sigh of relief. That meant lunch, and he could sleep through lunch.

But then he blinked, noticing that class had ended ten minutes early. Confused, he looked at All Might, who avoided his gaze as he coughed awkwardly.

"Before you all head off to enjoy your lunch- I have an important announcement to make."

The classroom fell silent, nervous attention on him with none of them sure what the announcement will be about. Even Izuku had no idea.

It didn't help the uncertainty that the last two times he had something to say, they'd been incredibly important. Like how he would temporarily be leaving to help capture the killer Stain in their third year, and that he was being forced to leave in their fourth when parents grew concerned that his presence was bringing danger to their kids.

All Might cleared his throat, bringing a hand to straighten his tie before beginning.

"A-as all of you are aware, we are currently in the midst of a Triwizard Tournament," He paused to collect his thoughts, and around Izuku some students relaxed, relieved that it was just tournament news.

"The first task is already behind us, and the second is approaching swiftly, but between them let us not forget the grand goal of the tournament in the first place! Does anyone here know what that goal is?' miss Yaoyorozu."

Izuku felt the rush of air behind his head as Momo's hand shot up.

"To unite the three schools, and strengthen inter-school friendships!" Momo recited, and All Might nodded.

'Exactly Ms. Yaoyorozu, I knew you'd know, what with your fathers job in the ministry!" Momo smiled, brightening at the mention of her father and Izuku blinked, racking his brain for what exactly Mr. Yaoyorozu did, but his sleep deprived brain refused to give him the information.

All Might continued, starting to pace in front of his desk.

"As she said, the tournaments overall goal is to strengthen the friendships between schools, and we realize that might be er, lost amidst the excitement of competition, and so as is tradition to help re-enthuse the true end goal- we will be holding the Yule Ball over christmas."

Izuku knew the class had burst into talking, but he couldn't hear it over the loud squeal Ochako had let out as she bounced in her seat. He clapped his hands over his ears, and through his squinted eyes he could see All Might doing the same.

"ALL RIGHT SETTLE DOWN CLASS! I KNOW YOU'RE ALL EXCITED BUT PLEASE CALM DOWN."

It took a few attempts, but he finally managed to get everyone's attention back on him.

"I'm glad you're all feeling excited- but there's still a few things needed to be said- first of all only fourth year and up can attend, third and below can only come if they're someones partner." All Might said, pulling out a parchment and reading off it. "Second- dance classes will replace an elective class until the ball, so that you all may feel comfortable with dancing! That class will be led by Professor Ryūko and Kamui, so if you have any questions talk to them. Uh, formal attire is required, having a partner isn't required but highly encouraged, please consider asking someone from another school- Well I think you all get the gist of it." All Might stowed the parchment away, looking slightly uncomfortable as he coughed. "Uh, any questions?"

Half of the classes hands shot into the air.

All Might whiped his brow, pointing at Uraraka.

"Ms. Uraraka?"

"Can girls ask guys to the dance?"

"I uh, don't see why not. It's not in the rules so-"

"How many people can we ask?" Shouted Al Acran, a Gryffindor.

"I think one is quite enough-" All Might chuckled, sweating even harder as students started hurling questions at him.

"But what if you can't decide?"

"How do you ask a girl out in like, a manly way?"

"Is there a dress code for length?"

"Will the ball go past curfew?"

"What if uh, you don't know who to ask?"

"Oh would you look at the time! We're out of it so any remaining questions please just ask your head of house-"

"But you're our head of house!" Kirishima pointed out, and All Might laughed nervously.

"So I am, but I uh- CLASS DISMISSED!" He shouted, causing them all to jump as he sprinted out of the room. They all sat there, confused for a moment, when suddenly he came running back in.

"Er yes, one last thing- Champions are required to have a date."

Suddenly, Izuku didn't feel so tired anymore.

The great Hall was static with noise.

The announcements of the Yule Ball had all happened at once, meaning that practically everyone was bursting with excitement at the news.

It was so loud that Momo could hear it from the entrance hall as she and the others entered.

Ochako in particular was gushing, practically bouncing in excitement.

"I've never been to a ball or any type of dance before- OOH I get to wear one of those big fancy dresses that poof out like a cupcake!! I've always wanted to wear one of those!"

Momo laughed uncertainly, hoping Ochako was joking about the cupcake dress as she said her good byes to them, going the other way as they went off into the resounding noise.

Momo wasn't going to join in the excitement, choosing instead to head to the library and start preparing for the tutoring lesson with Todoroki after lunch.

She hadn't a clue what level Todoroki was when it came to Transfiguration, but judging by the few Transfiguration spells she's seen him use, she'd have to guess moderate at most. She would work from there, set up a couple baselines and exercises that'll be useful even if he already knows the basic of the spell.

She made her way to the library quickly, ducking into one of Kaminari's shortcuts. As she walked into the high shelves, she felt a creeping edge of nervousness in her stomach. She did her best to ignore it as she started shifting through books, picking a few and skimming through them before either putting them back or setting them into a pile. She was going to do her usual routine when it came to first tutoring session, just get a base level of where they were at and then work from there.

As the time grew nearer to Todoroki arriving, she tried her best to ignore the squirming in her stomach by reading. She chose a nice table by one of the few windows in the library, magically attached to the outside.

As she sat waiting, a pleasant smell soon wafted into her nose, drifting through the open window.

It smelt like freshly burned firewood, with a hint of a petrichor like fragrance that she couldn't quite describe.

As she breathed it in, she felt like she was at her summer cabin, sitting by the fire and watching the rain clouds roll in, eating food and just taking in the breathtaking view of the alps till she drifted off to sleep.

It was relaxing whatever it was, and she felt her eyelids grow heavy, fluttering drowsily as she tried to focus on the page. The scent was getting stronger, and she found herself getting lost in it, not aware of what she was doing or where she was- all that mattered was that she kept focusing on that wonderful smell…

"Yaoyorozu?"

Her eyes flew open, and she sat up flustered, looking around unsure of what had happened. Her vision focused on Todoroki, standing next to her with his hand hovering unsure between them. He had a look of slight concern on his face, eyebrows knitted together.

"Oh Todoroki- I'm so sorry I must have dozed off!" She apologized, straightening and running her fingers through her hair to make sure it looked decent. "I must have been more tired then I thought." She said sheepishly, tightening her ponytail. He nodded awkwardly, shoving his hand into his pocket. For a few seconds they were silent, before Momo remembered that she was in charge of this, and gestured for Todoroki to sit across from her.

"Um, please sit down and we'll start. What I like to do before any tutoring session is figure out where you're at so we can work from there."

Momo soon fell into the usual rhythm of tutoring, going through the motions that she had been doing for all her years at Hogwarts. Todoroki proved to be a better student then she'd thought he'd be, listening and replying to questions or wand movements when needed. Soon they were done, and Momo was giving him reading recommendations.

"-and this book I found very insightful- it even was helpful to some friends of mine who aren't… the most studious." Momo said carefully, handing the final book to Todoroki to add to his small pile.

"I see, I'll make sure to read it." Todoroki said, flipping it over and reading the back. Momo nodded, going through her mental checklist to make sure she'd covered everything.

"I hope they help. OH! One last recommendation. I don't know if you're going to Hogsmead this weekend, but there's a store there that sells books dedicated to each teaching subject and I highly suggest looking through those books to see if any would be beneficial."

Todoroki's hold on the book tightened, and his expression darkened.

"I'm not going, I have lessons that day."

"Oh." Momo blinked, casting her eyes to the table as she cleaned up the parchment they'd used. "That's a shame, I would have liked to see you…"

Momo's froze as she realized what she said, having said it without thinking, and she quickly looked up at Todoroki.

He was staring at her with wide eyes, and she flushed.

"I mean- we could've gone to the bookstore together or um, my friends and I were going to the new bakery shop that's opening and you could've come if you'd wanted; it's my favorite shop actually..." Momo said shyly, tucking her bangs behind her ear. " But since you have lessons maybe next Hogsmeade trip? If you want to of course…" Todoroki was just looking at her, and Momo realized with a mental kick that she'd been rambling.

He blinked, shifting awkwardly in his chair as he looked back at the book in his hand.

"I'll... see what I can do."

"I hope you can come next time." Momo said, smiling at him, he nodded.

Above them, the bell chimed, signaling the next period.

Momo leapt out of her seat with a gasp, only now remembering she had Care or Magical Creatures next, which was always held out on the lawn. Picking up her things in a hurry, she said a hasty good bye to Todoroki.

"Oh no I'm going to be late- I'll see you later Todoroki, I have to go now but I hope this was helpful!"

He barely had time to wave before she ran out of the library, hoping that Professor Ryukyu would be understanding and not take to many house-points away for being late.

Todoroki leaned forward, hand over his mouth as he thought over what Yaoyorozu had said about Hogsmeade. There was no way his father would ever deem Hogsmead worthy of his time, but… Shouto didn't need his permission, really.

Not when Yaoyorozu had looked so hopeful that he'd go.

Twenty minutes later, Izuku fell into Momo's vacant seat in despair, a groan of anguish and frustration leaving him as his head fell onto the table.

"… Midoriya?"

Izuku lifted one hand, barely off the table, and did a little wave.

"Good afternoon Todoroki." His voice was muffled, and Todoroki raised an eyebrow. "Please ignore me, I just… feel nothing but dread in every pore of my body. Don't worry though, I'll… deal with it."

Todoroki shrugged, his eyes falling back to his book. They were quiet for a moment, as Izuku turned his head to gaze off into the shelf beside them with a slumped posture, and Todoroki continued reading the chapter of "Transfiguration, Beginner to Advanced".

"How'd the tutoring with Yaomomo go?" Izuku asked, and Todoroki shrugged, turning a page.

"It went well. She had a class to go to though."

"Oh that sucks." Izuku said, only half listening as his thoughts reeled with panic instilled by all the Yule Ball talk.

They fell silent again, both lost in thought.

The quiet was disturbed by the distant sound of muttering. Izuku looked up, recognizing it as it got louder, and soon Bakugou burst into the library.

"HERES THE FUCKING BOOKS." He yelled, slamming the books he was holding onto the librarians desk. "And don't tell me I can't shout I'm not in the fucking mood, all this fucking talk is driving me crazy I'm here for some damn quiet!"

He spun around, glaring around the room until his eyes fell on the table Todoroki and Izuku were sitting. He swore.

"Of fucking course you two have to be here! I can't even come to the library without being fucking reminded!" He yelled, throwing himself into empty seat next to the two of them.

Izuku groaned, hitting his face once again to the table. He didn't want to have to deal with Bakugou on top of it all.

Though… from the sound of it Bakugou was sick of all the Yule Ball talk to.

"We don't want to talk about it either Kaachan, it's why I'm here."

"Of course you don't." Bakugou snorted. "What chance does a nerd like you have of getting a date."

"About the same as your chances." Izuku said, not sure if he was feeling brave or hopeful that Bakugou would kill him. Probably the latter, he'd be able to ditch the Ball that way.

Sadly, Bakugou only huffed and muttered for him to shut up.

"Oh, are you saying you won't be able to get a date Bakugou? But I thought you said you were capable of anything- was that a bluff? I always knew Hogwarts were inclined to bluffing and lying." The sneering, French accent was unmistakable, and turning around, Bakugou's face turned even Sourer as Monoma swaggered over, his nose upturned as he sneered at them. "It's not surprising, unlike Beauxbaton, Hogwarts champion's really seem to lack the finesse needed to ask a girl out, it's pitiful really."

Turning, Bakugou glared at Monoma with gritted teeth. Izuku cut in however, placing his chin on the table and looking away from the shelf at last.

"Do you already have a date Monoma?"

Monoma scoffed, his pompous expression somehow getting more gloating as he flicked his blonde bangs out of his face with a perfectly poised hand.

"Silly Hogwarts #2 of course I do! As soon as I find the perfect candidate for my date, it's a done deal!"

Bakugou and Izuku scowled at him, and in one motion Bakugou kicked the chair across from him out from under the table and Izuku face planted back into the table.

"Sit the fuck down, you're no better than the rest of us you shit."

Monoma sat down.

Silence filled the table, the only sound being Izuku's muttering. Bakugou was glaring, Monoma was trying his best to not look concerned, and Todoroki still reading. The library was oddly silent, no one was entering the doors to Todoroki's back, and no students were walking to get a book from the shelves behind Monoma and Bakugou, even though the library was usually filled during breaks.

The silence was broken, surprisingly by Monoma.

"I don't know why you're all so concerned, it's not till the end of the month after all! That's plenty of time to find yourselves SOME form of date." He folded his arms, looking jeeringly at Bakugou though admittedly, some of it was lost as his voice was unconfident.

"Hmph , I'll definitely find one, don't know about you fucker's but I don't plan on being the champion without a date!" Bakugou scoffed.

"Yeah… we all will find someone… right TodorokI?" Izuku spoke, and they all turned and looked towards Todoroki.

He shrugged, his eyes not leaving the pages. He was at the part Yaoyorozu had specifically recommended to him, and he saw no reason in verbally responding.

Izuku sighed.

"We're doomed."

"Shut up Deku…"

Silence.

Silence.

Silence.

"It must be horrible to be you Hogwarts students with no-"

In almost unison, Bakugou and Izuku turned to glare at him, and Monoma stopped.

More silence.

Izuku scribbled on the piece of parchment in front of him, mentally forming a letter to All Might about why he ran away, and how it most certainly was not because he was scared of asking a girl out. Yeah, he'd make sure to write that bolded and underlined.

Bakugou was staring at a book, his expression brooding. Kicking himself for getting into an argument with the only girl who would consider going with him. Maybe he should offer Ochako two hits with a book…

Monoma was thinking of ways to make himself seem better than the others, and Bakugou sensed it.

"Oh shut up , stop acting so damn high and mighty when you don't even have a clue who to ask!" He snapped, his voice starting to rise before falling back down, remembering where he was just in the nick of time. The librarian had looked up, and with piercing eyes was watching them.

"Not even one of us have a plan or person to ask… this will be the first Yule Ball in history where none of the champions have a date." Izuku groaned.

"Oh." Todoroki finally entered the conversation, looking up from his book, recognition in his eyes. "We are talking about the Yule Ball."

"wHAT THE FUCK ELSE WOULD WE BE TALKING ABOUT?!"

"Nice going Shouty, you got us kicked out." Monoma huffed, crossing his arms and glaring at Bakugou, who snarled back.

The four Champions were now standing in the hallway outside the library, having just been tossed out by the Librarian for Bakugou's yelling. Izuku had found comfort in the rock hard tiles of the floor, resuming his previous position of being face down.

"Also!" Monoma swung over, looking at Todoroki who was nudging Izuku with his foot, hands on his hips. "How did you not pick up that we were talking about the Yule Ball? It was so obvious!"

Todoroki shrugged.

"I was only half listening." Picking up his bookbag he slung it over his shoulder, Monoma staring at him, offense written all over his face. "The book I was reading was much more interesting."

Monoma blanched, and Bakugou muttered a "fuck you" under his breath, hands shoved in his pockets and a glare etched into every inch of his face. Izuku thought it was fair, but didn't voice it, as it would entail moving.

"But," Todoroki continued, turning and looking at them all with a serious expression. "we have a month. Stop worrying and just find a date."

Bakugou grimaced, Izuku sat up, and Monoma nodded, refusing to look Todoroki in the eyes while he agreed.

"Yeah… you're right…" Izuku muttered, standing up fully. "No point in worrying over it now, best to save that for when I don't have a date the day before."

Todoroki nodded.

"Yes, you should be worrying at that point."

"I don't like you being fucking right Prick face, and I'm not going to admit you are."

"You just did."

"Fuck you."

They all stood there and looked at each other, feeling an awkward sense of solidarity that they didn't feel before.

One by one they nodded and started going their own way, Bakugou first, then Todoroki, and finally Monoma.

Izuku still stood there, outside the library door, looking at all the other champions go, and feeling like, perhaps they could all be friends…

"WAIT A MINUTE YOU DURMSTRANG IDIOT YOU JUST SAID WHAT I SAID EARLIER!"

"Oh did I? I wasn't listening."

Izuku made a face, as Monoma started attempting to argue with Todoroki.

Ok, perhaps friendship was still a long ways away.


	9. Chapter 9

The snow fell Friday night in a heavy blanket, covering every spire of the castle in snow and ice creeped onto the dorm windows.

Momo didn't notice it at first, absorbed in reading an extra curricular potions book Professor Aizawa had granted her permission to take from the forbidden section. It was filled with precautions that were helpful to become a healer, such as the more dangerous and gruesome side effects that weren't talked about in class and how to avoid them. Though, those were between the occasional incredibly forbidden potion recipes.

She was so engrossed in the page that it wasn't until Tomohiro leapt from his spot on her legs, claws digging temporarily into her shin before landing on the window seat, that she finally saw it was snowing.

A smile quirked at her lips, both from excitement at the first snowfall- and at Tomohiro's attempts to bat at the snowflakes.

An "aww" left her as she sat up from laying on her stomach, and she grabbed the camera her father bought her on her fifteenth birthday from one of the many shelves around her bed and took a quick picture. Momo giggled adoringly at the picture that rolled out, showing Tomohiro in motion as he leapt around the window on his hind legs, front paws jumping at the falling snow as his tail swished excitedly and his ears swiveled in high alert.

She flicked her wand and sent the picture neatly soaring into that years picture box as she stood up, tucking her wand behind her ear (a habit she'd picked up from her mother) and walking towards Tomohiro with a tut.

"Don't do that Tomo you're going to scratch the glass!" She chastised, picking him up and cradling him.

He let out a disgruntled "mrrp", twisting around in her arms to look at her as if to say. "Hey I was playing put me back!".

"I can't put you back, you're not allowed to do that and you know it. " Momo said, booping his nose with a finger. He wiggled his body to try and get down, but she held strong till she made it to the spot where another bed was supposed to be, but instead she'd built Tomohiro's play area. She set him down in his cat tree, and at once the little enchanted bird toy got up and fluttered about, catching Tomohiro's attention as it hovered above him. He started chasing it all around the tree, the toy tauntingly chirping mechanical clicks at him as it flew just out of reach, and Momo turned back to the window, satisfied he wasn't going to scratch at the glass anytime soon.

It was lonely being the only Ravenclaw girl her age, but it did come with perks she supposed, like having an entire dorm room to herself.

Though she had been looking forward to roommates in her first year, thinking it would be like having a sibling and she'd been crushed when she found out no one else would be joining her. She'd gotten used to it by now though, and even though it got rather lonely some nights, she at leasts gets special permission to have sleepovers with girls from other houses occasionally.

Momo almost went back to her book, but a sight outside of her window stopped her.

From her room in Ravenclaw tower she had a perfect view of the Durmstrangs ship floating on the lake, and although she didn't know how long it had been snowing she could tell it was freezing from the patches of ice already forming on the black water. It dawned on her that the lake was going to freeze over with them still on it.

Her fingers pressed against the cold glass as she kneeled on the seat, peering out towards the black ship rocking gently, and wondered not for the first time what it was like in there.

She'd love to know the enchantments on it, how many rooms where on board and how big it was on the inside…

Perhaps she'd ask Todoroki after their tutoring session next week.

——

The next morning Momo had barely finished breakfast when she was pounced on.

She'd turned around on the bench to stand up, but she only had time to briefly see green Slytherin robes and Bakugou's scowling face before her vision was blocked by pink.

"Are you done Yaomomo?!" Mina asked excitedly, bouncing on the spot with her hands clasped together and a childlike grin on her face. "If you are when do you think you'll wanna go to Hogsmead? In an hour? Half an hour? Right now??" She grinned, voice rising in pitch with each question.

"Right now is my vote." Ochako popped up beside her, looking hopefully at Momo with puppy dog eyes, fingers laced beneath her chin. "Maybe if we leave right now we can get all of our shopping done and be back here for lunch with Tsuyu!" She pursed her lips expectantly, and Momo laughed behind her hand.

"I don't see why not! We can have the cakes after lunch that way."

Three voices cheered as Kaminari jumped in, joining Mina and Ochako as they celebrated free cake, fists pumping into the air.

"-and that leaves the afternoon open for studying!" Momo clapped her hands together, beaming. "It's perfect we'll have all of our energy out from walking and can relax and catch up on the readings!"

She didn't notice that the other three had frozen, their faces stuck in varying expressions of dismay, horror, and fear- she was to busy planning in her mind how studying later would go.

Kaminari quickly run off while she was distracted, leaving Mina and Ochako to share a look of "Is it worth it??".

"I'll buy some small cakes to, that way we can eat while we study."

At once they brightened, and Mina threw her hands in the air.

"TOTALLY WORTH IT!"

Momo blinked, before smiling encouragingly.

"Oh yes the studying will be worth it- just because the Triwizard is here doesn't mean we should slack on preparing for our N.E.W.T's!" Momo said, mistaking Mina's excitement for cake to be enthusiasm for studying.

Mina nodded fast, deciding to not correct her.

"Yeah totally! Now let's go before it get's too crowded!"

Mina grabbed Momo's hand and Ochako quickly took the other, and together they pulled her up and started powerwalking towards the door.

Momo laughed.

"You guys I can walk!"

"We know but you might get distracted- we gotta keep you focused on the goal!" Ochako explained, and Momo shook her head with a smile as they pulled her out the Great Hall.

Unknowingly passing by Todoroki without giving him a glance.

——

The walk to hogsmead was freezing as the wind sent the snow flying into their faces, and by the time they reached the village they had ice sticking to their skin.

"OK- GAME PLAN!" Ochako said, pumping her fist into her palm. "I say we go to the Three Broomsticks to warm up, then go shopping for dresses!"

Having no problem with that the girls walked to the Three Broomsticks.

A wave of warmth washed over their faces as they entered, the delightful smell of butterbeer wafting into their noses and the large fireplace crackling. Momo and Mina waved at Bakugou and his friends who were also here, seated in the far corner. Sero and Kirishima waved back (Kirishima a little to quickly, causing his butterbeer to spill slightly down his front, and Sero snickered at him). Bakugou ignored them all, to busy staring at the wall with a grumpy pout.

Ochako ignored this interaction, opting to go straight to the table in front of the window, her shoulders straight as she marched to her seat.

Momo caught Bakugou's eyes flickering to look at her, his frown deepening, and Momo started connecting the dots.

Sitting down, Mina wasted no time in getting right on subject.

"So what type of dresses do you guys want to wear to the Yule Ball?? I'm thinking fun colors like purple or dark pink with a really fun skirt like this-" she pulled a magazine out of her coat, and Momo and Ochako leaned closer. "Or this one!." She flipped a couple pages before landing on the other dress.

"Either of those would look so good on you!!" Ochako squealed, and Momo nodded in agreement.

"Agreed, you'll look stunning in whichever you choose to wear!"

"Aww thanks you guys!" Mina beamed. "I think I'll decide for sure when I see the dresses in person. But what about you girls, what dresses do you want?" She asked, laying the magazine more flat against the table as she flicked to another page. "I saw a few that would look amazing on both of you!"

"I'm not buying a dress today, I'm going to wait a little longer to see if I get asked first so I know what to order." Momo explained, signaling to the barmaid to get them three butterbeers. "My mother always said to plan your outfit with whoever you're going with so… I suppose I'll do that?"

"Wow… I never thought of that… Mrs. Yaoyorozu is so smart.." Mina awed, placing her hands on her cheeks. "Next summer when I drop by I'm going to have so many questions… But! I suppose whoever goes with me this time will just have to match with me since I'm buying the dress today and no ones asked me yet!" She shrugged, grinning at the thought of being asked out.

The barmaid came over with their drinks, and Momo insistently paid for them.

"What about you Ochako? What are you thinking?" Momo asked as the barmaid left, taking a sip from her mug.

"Whichever dress is cheapest." Ochako deadpanned. "The school only gives me enough to buy school books so I'll probably rent a hand-me-down."

Immediately Momo and Mina spoke, offering to help pay for whatever dress she wanted, but Ochako talked them down.

"NO you guys already buy so much stuff for me I'd feel so terrible if you spent even more money… Besides!" She said, trying to brighten the mood as the others looked terribly downtrodden. "It's more about who you go with then what you wear- right?"

Mina nodded, sending small droplets of water out of her hair at the fast movement.

"TRUE! And speaking of which- who do you guys want to go with??" Her eyes took the glint that Ochako liked to call "The Matchmaker look" that Mina adopted whenever she saw an opportunity to potentially set her friends up.

To her dismay however, Momo and Ochako both made gestures of uncertainty.

"I'm not gonna be picky, as long as I know them and think we'll have fun I'll go with em." Ochako said. "Besides, it doesn't have to be romantic, I could go with Deku or Iida but that doesn't mean we have to start dating, I'd much prefer if it was more of a friend event anyway."

"I agree." Momo nodded. "Besides, it takes the pressure off of those who weren't able to get romantic dates if it's more expected to go with friends- or for people who weren't able to get dates at all."

Ochako took a drink while nodding sagely, and Mina rolled her eyes.

"That's not fun I can't tease you guys about that!" She complained."Besides you guys aren't the ones who have to worry about getting dates- I mean YaoMomo has a good shot at being asked by Todoroki for goodness sakes you two will do just fine!"

Momo choked, placing her glass down hard on the table as she coughed, hitting her chest gently with her palm.

"I-I don't know what you mean Mina." She said bewildered, but she could feel a different kind of warmth spreading onto her cheeks. "Todoroki doesn't like me- He's a friend!"

"Oh come on Yaomomo I think he totally likes you! Why else would he always be seeking you out?"

"Because he had questions he wanted to ask me."

"Which is a good clue to why he likes you! He seems like a guy who'd really like a smart girl like you, and every question you answered just made him fall harder- it's a classic!" Mina said enthusiastically, and Momo shifted in her seat, uncomfortable.

"I haven't noticed."

"Because he's a guy." Mina said wisely, reaching over and patting Momo's hand. "He probably doesn't even know he likes you yet, so his signals aren't as noticeable for anyone who isn't attuned to picking these sort of things up, but I'm practically a professional."

Momo looked down, not sure at all how to respond, but Ochako cut in.

"Come on Mina it's not fun to have people assume you like someone just because you hang out with them, you know how frustrating that's been for me with everyone thinking me and Deku are dating! Besides, if he does like her it's much better if it progresses naturally and not forced by any outside help."

Mina pouted, sitting back in her seat and crossing her arms.

"You guy's give too reasonable answers I wanted something juicy." She whined, and Ochako stuck out her tongue.

"Well sorry we're good people."

Mina made a face at her, and their talk went back to dresses as they planned which stores they were going to go to. A few minutes later however, Mina perked up, staring out the window with mischievous eyes.

"Well well well, look who was "to busy to come to Hogsmead today"." She snickered, and Momo followed her gaze out the window and saw Jirou and Kaminari.

Jirou's cheeks were flushed and she had a Hufflepuff scarf wrapped around her neck, clearly given to her by Kaminari.

"At least one of us has a for sure date~" Ochako giggled, and Momo hide her smile behind her hands, quickly looking back at her drink as to not spy.

Mina and Ochako didn't however, Ochako even stood up to try and get a better look.

Kaminari walked off with a wink, waving bye to Jirou and she waved back, holding a brown parcel.

Looking down at the ground, she gave a little smile, holding the package closer to her chest.

She soon looked back up- and saw her friends staring at her through the window, annoyingly smug looks on their faces.

Jirou's face turned a bright shade of red and she hurried across the street, entering the pub and making her way straight to their table.

She stopped, opening her mouth and moving it without saying anything for a couple second, her friends all looked at her expectantly.

"I- I felt like coming after all." She stuttered, bashfully not looking at any of them. "I remembered some stuff I need to buy, that's all."

The next ten minutes where spent teasing Jirou, but Momo only half listened, Mina's words from earlier remaining in the back of her mind…

It certainly wasn't an unpleasant thought, going to the Yule Ball with Todoroki.


End file.
